Whiskered Screech-Owl

Overview
Whiskered Screech-Owl: Small owl with distinct ear tufts, gray and brown mottled upperparts, and brown-streaked, white-barred underparts. It is named for its facial whiskers, which are longer and denser than in other screech owls. Eyes are yellow. Flight is mothlike with rapid, silent wing beats.

Range and Habitat
Whiskered Screech-Owl: Resident in range, in the north of its range (Arizona), there may be some down slope movements in winter. Prefers montane habitats.

The Whiskered Screech-Owl is a small owl which looks much like the Western Screech Owl. The preferred breeding range of this bird includes dense coniferous and oak forests, as well as coffee plantations found at high elevations. This species is found in southeastern Arizona in the United States and north central Nicaragua. The Whiskered Screech-Owl sits on a perch and swoops down to catch prey at night. Typical diets consist of insects, mammals, grasshoppers, beetles and moths. Nests are made in tree cavities, and sometimes abandoned woodpecker holes. The conservation rating for the Whiskered Screech-Owl is Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Whiskered Screech Owl is also called the Arizona Whiskered Owl, Spotted Screech-Owl and Whiskered Owl. Their call is a series of soft hoots, long and short notes interspersed, which has been likened to Morse code. They are the smallest of the three Screech-Owls that occur in North America. All three Screech-Owls are very similar in appearance and can only positively be distinguished in the field by their call. A group of owls has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "glaring", "parliament", "stooping", and "wisdom" of owls.