Screech Owl; Mottled Owl; Red Owl (Megascops asio) | Affiliated Manuscripts | Further Data

Occurrence in Amherst & Connecticut Valley, Mass.
C19

Common resident, but least common in summer

January - December

C20

Resident, common in the lowlands, rare in the hills, and cusiously less often heard or noticed in the first half of the year than in the second

January - December

C21

Resident; the species generally is believed to be nonmigratory, except perhaps in the most northerly parts of the range

January - December

Habitat
open deciduous woods, woodlots, lakeshores, old orchards, settlements
Nest Materials
a tree hollow opened by woodpeckers, fungus, rot, or squirrels
19th-20th Century Field Notes
Mottled gray , black and white , varying to pure rusty - red , streaked beneath . Length , 10 - 11 inches . Common , except in summer . Raises 1 brood . Eggs 4 - 6 , white . Nest in a hollow tree . Eggs laid in May . Although the nest has not been found here , Mr . H . W . Greenough took a female in the gray , and a young bird in the red , plumage , July 5 , 1886 . Notes , pitiable cries and moans . Feeds on mice and insects , and very rarely a few chickens . Beneficial .

—H.L. Clark, 1887

21st Century Conservation Notes

Least concern*