screech owl

or screech-owl

noun

any of numerous small American owls of the genus Otus, having hornlike tufts of feathers, as O. asio, of eastern North America.

(not in technical use) any owl having a harsh cry, especially the barn owl.

Words nearby screech owl

screaming, screaming-meemies, screamo, scree, screech, screech owl, screeching, screechy, screed, screen, screen actors guild

Origin of screech owl

First recorded in 1585–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for screech owl

He has a similar dread of a screech-owl, whom he compliments in the name of its mistress, Pallas Athene.
Scientific Essays and Lectures|Charles Kingsley
The old keeper had betrayed to him that in a cleft of a tolerably lofty rock in the deer-park a screech-owl had built a nest.
Luke Barnicott|William Howitt
The screech-owl flies with a silent wing, as if wrapped in tow (comme toupe de ouate).
The Bird|Jules Michelet
As he did so, there resounded again, simultaneously, the howl of the yard dog and the death-cry of the screech-owl.
The Strand Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 40, April, 1894|Various

The screech-owl gave one gloomy shrill and prolonged note, and all was still again.
Gomez Arias|Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

British Dictionary definitions for screech owl

screech owl

noun

a small North American owl, Otus asio, having ear tufts and a reddish-brown or grey plumage

British any owl that utters a screeching cry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

screech owl

or screech-owl

noun

Content related to screech owl

Words nearby screech owl

Origin of screech owl

Examples from the Web for screech owl

British Dictionary definitions for screech owl

noun