short-eared owl

[ shawrt-eerd ]

noun

1. a streaked, buffy brown, cosmopolitan owl, Asio flammeus, having very short tufts of feathers on each side of the head.

Word History and Origins

Origin of short-eared owl¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

Example Sentences

The common owl is indigenous, the long-eared owl resident, and the short-eared owl a regular winter visitor.

From Project Gutenberg

In the matter of its nesting the Short-eared Owl presents us with another anomaly.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Yarrell states that the Short-eared Owl is the only bird of prey in which he ever found the remains of a bat.

From Project Gutenberg

But the short-eared owl is a regular migrant, coming over in flights like woodcock.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the most remarkable of these is the Short-eared Owl, another the Woodcock.

From Project Gutenberg