Eastern vs Western Screech-Owl: What’s the Difference?

A screech-owl measures 8-1/2 inches long, or about the size of a beer glass, with a wingspan of 20 inches.

Don’t miss 15 outstanding pictures of owls.

Screech-Owl Nest and Eggs

Courtesy Jane Miller

As they lose habitat to development, these owls need friendly places to call home. Both the eastern and western owls use nesting boxes. Hang up a box in your yard to encourage them to stick around. The birds will use the box for both roosting and nesting. The female screech owl lays four to five white eggs in debris at the bottom of a nesting cavity.

Baby Screech-Owl

Courtesy Gail Hall

If you yearn for your very own owl visitors, it is possible to attract them to your yard. Birds & Blooms reader Janet Kirk of Fort Myers, Florida, has proof that patience pays off. She put up a nest box four years ago, and a female eastern screech-owl finally moved in. A month later, the owl’s mate showed up, and eventually Janet and her family watched three baby owls fledge.

Science writer and nature photographer David Shaw had a similar experience. “I watched as the pair of adult owls brought dead mice and voles, and occasional small birds to their growing chicks, which poked their fluffy, down-covered heads out into the open air.”

What Do Screech-Owls Eat?

Their diet consists of insects, including worms and moths, small mammals, other birds, fish, spiders and reptiles. These owls are fond of water, so get in the habit of looking for one at your bird bath or water feature at night. You won’t hear the bird arrive because an owl’s feathers are specially made for silence—the super soft surface and fringed edges keep prey (and us) from hearing them swoop in.

Meet the great horned owl: the greatest nocturnal hunter.

What Does a Screech-Owl Sound Like?

Courtesy Debbie Griffith

Hear what these birds sound like.

Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Eastern

The eastern screech-owl makes a tremulous wailing whinny or a long trill. May give a screechlike noise if defensive.

Western

The western owl makes an accelerating series of short whistles, or a very staccato hooting song, like a bouncing ball, with a short trill followed by a longer trill.

Learn how to spot the owl in your backyard trees.

Eastern Range

Courtesy Rick Hamilton

Look for these owls from the East Coast, reaching up into parts of the Northeast and down into Florida, out through the Great Plains.

Western Range

Courtesy Michael Benson/Country magazine

You can spot this species from Colorado and western Texas to the Pacific Coast, south into Mexico and north to parts of Alaska.

Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.

Next, learn about northern saw-whet owls.