[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This Burrowing Owl was photographed at a small Prairie Dog town, Andrews, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 70-200mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=420mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: November 20, 2007)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This "Western" Burrowing Owl was photographed at Arapaho NWR in Walden, Colorado. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1992)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This "Western" Burrowing Owl in flight was photographed at Arapaho NWR in Walden, Colorado. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1992)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This Burrowing Owl was photographed at a Prairie Dog town near Florey Park, Andrews County, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: July 2, 2008)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This Burrowing Owl was photographed at a Prairie Dog town near Florey Park, Andrews, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 11, 2008)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 21 in.]

This Burrowing Owl was photographed at a Prairie Dog town near Florey Park, Andrews, TX. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 11, 2008)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 20 in.]

Screech-Owls are probably the most common owls in the United States. They are small, gray or reddish colored owls, with heavy streaking, small ear tufts, and glaring yellow eyes. They occur in a variety of habitats throughout the US and southern and western Canada, including forests, swamps, orchards, parks, and suburban woodlots. In the southwest, they also occur in desert areas. The Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicottii) and the Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio) were once considered to be the same species. They are identical in plumage and overall appearance, and are best separated by range and vocalization differences. The songs and vocalizations of the two Screech-Owls are very different. The Eastern Screech-Owl gives either a quavering, descending series of whistled notes (which sounds a little like the "whinnying" of a horse), or a long, hollow-sounding trill. The Western Screech-Owl gives either a series of hollow, whistled notes which accelerate like the rhythm of a bouncing ball, or a short trill followed immediately by a longer trill. This captive gray-phase Eastern Screech-Owl was photographed at a wildlife rehabilitation center (photo courtesy Art and Hanna Richard). Photo taken with a 50mm f1.4 Pentax SMC Macro Lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: Unknown)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 20 in.]

Screech-Owls are probably the most common owls in the United States. They are small, gray or reddish colored owls, with heavy streaking, small ear tufts, and glaring yellow eyes. They occur in a variety of habitats throughout the US and southern and western Canada, including forests, swamps, orchards, parks, and suburban woodlots. In the southwest, they also occur in desert areas. The Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicottii) and the Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio) were once considered to be the same species. They are identical in plumage and overall appearance, and are best separated by range and vocalization differences. The songs and vocalizations of the two Screech-Owls are very different. The Eastern Screech-Owl gives either a quavering, descending series of whistled notes (which sounds a little like the "whinnying" of a horse), or a long, hollow-sounding trill. The Western Screech-Owl gives either a series of hollow, whistled notes which accelerate like the rhythm of a bouncing ball, or a short trill followed immediately by a longer trill. This captive red-phase Eastern Screech-Owl was photographed at a wildlife rehabilitation center (photo courtesy Art and Hanna Richard). Photo taken with a 50mm f1.4 Pentax SMC Macro Lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: Unknown)