Belonging to the Owl family along with the Barred Owl, this small bird of prey has "ear" tufts, clumps of feathers on its head that it can raise and lower. The Screech Owl is a cavity nester and nocturnal, often sleeping during the day in hollow trees. This species will nest in manmade boxes, and nesting begins as early as February. These owls can be gray or reddish brown in color, and the female is usually larger than the male. Screech Owls feed on mice (and some insects) and are sometimes harmed by eating poisoned mice. They are also frequently hit by cars at night. This owl does not generally migrate.

The young nestlings shown in the first photo on this page were brought to us after their nest was disturbed, and eventually fostered into another Screech Owl nest.

When the second Owl shown on this page was photographed, he had been found just a few days before with a gunshot through the forewing which had broken his ulna (elbow) mid-shaft. He had been brought to an animal hospital, but had stayed there without treatment for nearly 12 hours. Finally, he was rescued by a veterinarian and brought to us. When he arrived here, he was terrified and still bleeding. However, he stayed with us just about a month and made a complete recovery. We released him back to the wild when we were assured he could hunt and kill his own food.

After being hit by a car, the adult Owl shown in the third photo here was also successfully treated by us and returned to the wild.