Whiskered Screech Owl
Megascops trichopsis
The Whiskered Screech Owl (Megascops trichopsis) is a rare owl found in 6 countries, weighing about 88 g. The whiskered screech owl is a small screech owl found in North and Central America.
About the Whiskered Screech Owl
The whiskered screech owl is a small screech owl found in North and Central America.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eyes and a yellowish bill. The bird looks very similar to a western screech owl, but has heavier barring on the breast, and is slightly smaller in size. They are 6.3 to 7.9 in and have a wingspan of 17.3 in.
What the Whiskered Screech Owl sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, with peak activity in May. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Whiskered Screech Owl?
- Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Whiskered Screech Owl?
- The Whiskered Screech Owl is a medium sized bird weighing about 88 g.
- Where can you see a Whiskered Screech Owl?
- The Whiskered Screech Owl occurs in 6 countries, including the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
- What does a Whiskered Screech Owl sound like?
- You can listen to a field recording of the Whiskered Screech Owl on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Whiskered Screech Owl?
- The Whiskered Screech Owl is most easily confused with the Tawny-bellied Screech Owl, the Pacific Screech Owl and the Middle American Screech Owl.
- Is the Whiskered Screech Owl endangered?
- The Whiskered Screech Owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Whiskered Screech Owl for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.