screech owl

American  

Or screech-owl

noun

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

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

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screech owl British  

noun

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

2. any owl that utters a screeching cry

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Etymology

Origin of screech owl

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

This year, the Wildlife Center of Virginia posted on Facebook about an Eastern screech owl that flew into a glue trap.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2024

It won't take long to feel enamored of the newly adopted member of Carl Safina's family: a baby screech owl.

From Scientific American • Oct. 1, 2023

Some say it was a screech owl, flapping its wings while resting on a branch of a nearby fir tree.

From Salon • Nov. 25, 2021

But Owl 17-1308 does, which is why Paula Goldberg brought the juvenile Eastern screech owl to Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Md., on Tuesday morning.

From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2017

It might have been a screech owl, but owls were nocturnal and therefore would not be out in the daytime.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood