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| SOS Naturalist, Tom, with the Western screech owl |
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| The Western screech owl |
For the duration of this article, we'd like you to pretend that you are a prey animal of this owl. Take your pick of what you'd like to be. These owls will take the usual small mammals (mice, rats, etc.) and birds, but
are also known for eating reptiles (snakes and lizards) and even insects,
sometimes catching them while in flight.
Not even the aquatic animals are safe—these owls have been known to
capture and kill trout and crayfish. If you'd rather be dead than be eaten by a screech owl, know that they've been seen scavenging roadkill.
You are now pretending to be a prey animal of this owl. How would
you avoid getting eaten? Consider that
this animal is nocturnal and has a relatively large set of powerful eyes, well suited
for hunting at night. Hiding in the
darkest of shadows will not help you. Do
you think that slithering or crawling under the cover of leaves, snow or shrubs
will keep you alive? Consider yourself
lunch…owls can use their ears to triangulate the location of their prey without
ever seeing it.
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| Source: Flickr, Dominic Sherony |
Perhaps you are thinking that you could hear or see the owl
coming and maybe even fight it when it arrives.
Looking at the owl’s image, you probably noticed that it camouflages
well in a forest setting. What you can’t see in the photo are tiny serrations
on the owl’s flight feathers that makes the owl's flight nearly silent. As for fighting back, consider that the owl
has incredibly strong talons relative to its body size, allowing it to crush
the life from its prey. The rear talon, called the hallux, penetrates the
prey’s body, injuring vital organs and potentially severing the spinal cord.
By now you’re probably thinking that, given no other option,
you’re best off leaving the Western screech owl’s territory in search of a
safer life somewhere else. Consider that
there are an estimated 400,000 of them in North America ranging from Alaska on
down through Mexico. Hiding in the
desert is not an option because they are there, too. You could try travelling east but you will
ultimately meet this owl’s cousin, the Eastern screech owl.
Since neither running nor hiding is an option, perhaps some
knowledge and a little luck will keep you safe.
Keep your ears open for the following sound:
The owl’s name is a misnomer and better suited for its close
relative the Eastern screech owl.
If you want to stay alive, be careful around their nesting
sites—abandoned woodpecker holes and natural cavities in trees and cacti. They favor nesting sites near canyons and
drainages and will nest up to 6,000 feet above sea level.
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| An owl in its nest. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Perhaps a mating pair of these birds have moved into your
neighborhood and recently had offspring. Think the adults will be too busy to
eat you? Think again. The female bird will be busy with the hatchlings, but the male will still be out hunting and bringing food back to the nest. Also consider that those little hatchlings
will be leaving the nest in a month or less and be out mating within the
year. If you think you can wait out
their stay until they die consider that the oldest Western screech owl ever
recorded was 13 years old. As a side
note, consider that the single owls are equally as dangerous—the males are known
for flaunting their dead prey animals around the mouth of their nest to attract
females.
If by now you are thinking that being
100% safe from a Western screech owl is impossible—you are correct. If you do get eaten, know that you have
become part of the metabolic process of a truly cool animal. Just consider it’s genus—Megascops—a name that would be equally suitable for a
fire-breathing robot. And the species
name? kennicotti, named after the
American naturalist Robert Kennicott.
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| American naturalist Robert Kennicott. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
If nothing else, we hope that you have a new appreciation
for:
1)How great it is to not be a prey animal of a Western screech owl.
AND
AND
2)That while Western screech owls may be cute, they are far
from being harmless.
A great post!
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