screech owl

noun

|Updated on: 28 May 2018

Definition of screech owl

1 : barn owl

2 : any of various New World owls (genus Otus); especially : either of two small owls (O. asio of eastern North America and O. kennicottii of western North America) with a pair of tufts of lengthened feathers on the head resembling ears

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Recent Examples of screech owl from the Web

Both expert hunters, the American kestrel uses its acrobatic prowess, while the eastern screech owl is a stealthy silenthunter.

— sara ervin walser, Laurel Leader, "Spring into outdoor events at Patuxent Wildlife Visitor Center [South Laurel/Montpelier]," 17 May 2018
The one that's easiest to attract is the screech owl, says Bancroft.

— leah zerbe, Good Housekeeping, "How To Attract Owls To Your Backyard," 14 Aug. 2015
The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey placed an Eastern screech owl that was found with a fractured wing after Hurricane Irma with SeaWorld Orlando.

— david whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hurricane Irma survivor Irma the owl finds home at SeaWorld," 24 Apr. 2018
This also will become the home for the screech owls, barn owls and burrowing owls.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "Birds of Prey gets a rare addition and a multimillion-dollar expansion | Idaho Statesman," 12 Mar. 2018
Experience the sights and sounds of eastern screech owls, raccoons, night time spiders and much more.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Calendar highlights," 23 Jan. 2018
These programs allow visitors, many of them young children, to get exposure to nature and wildlife like the screech owl.

— kate magill, Laurel Leader, "Winter brings new chances for a nature escape at Patuxent Research Refuge," 13 Dec. 2017
Other birds that can be attracted to birdhouses in the San Antonio area include woodpeckers, barn owls, flycatchers, screech owls, house finches and tree ducks.

— calvin finch, San Antonio Express-News, "Purple martins are a great addition to the landscape," 4 Jan. 2018
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.

— john kelly, Washington Post, "Flying the friendly skies: An owl takes flight, but not in the way you’d expect," 18 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'screech owl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.