The screech owl makes noises like one big scary monster, but it's so small it can almost fit in the palm of your hand. This tiny, agile bird weaves its way through thick forests and swoops in silently to kill insects and small mammals with its sharp talons and pointy beak. The screech owl sleeps in trees during the day with its coloring manages to stay safe by looking like just another tree branch.
Swoosh! The screech owl usually lives in thick forests, and its small size allows it to fly through clusters of trees. This tiny bird of prey flies extremely fast by pumping its wings five times per second.
Eye for Darkness: Not only is this hunter an expert navigator, but it flies only at night. This owl's huge eyes give it excellent night vision-it can see obstacles and prey in the dark 10 times better than human eyes could see them!
Little Killer[]
This silent stalker strikes without warning.
The screech owl looks like a baby bird of prey, but this predator is a full-grown terror to insects and other small creatures. The wide, disk-like shape of its eye sockets channel sound-waves made by prey directly to the owl's ears to help it find a victim. Plus, the feathers on the owl's wings are fringed around the edges, allowing air to pass through them so the bird can fly without making a sound. The screech owl silently closes in on prey and makes quick kills with its sharp beaks and talons.
Screech of Death: The screech owl got its name from its call, which sounds like (what else?) a loud screech or howl. Old superstitions claimed that hearing this call was bad luck- maybe even that someone was about to die!
Branching Out: the screech owl's mottled feathers help it blend in with rough tree bark, day or night. If a predator is around, the owl will perch perfectly still and tuck its head into its shoulders so it looks like the broken stump of a tree branch.
Air, Land and Tree[]
- As the sun begins to set, a hungry screech owl wakes and goes out to hunt. Its first victim is a small butterfly, which it easily catches in mid-flight.
- The owl hears the chirping of a chipmunk that's scurrying home, and zeroes in on the sound. The bird crash-lands on the victim with its talons outstretched for the killing blow.
- Later, the screech owl spots a blue jay sitting on a distant branch. The owl flies over without making a sound and kills the small bird before it knows what hit it.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- Screech Owl is the only owl not in Nightmares of Nature.
- Screech Owl is the first bird in Tiny Terrors, followed by Red-Backed Shrike, and the second vertebrate featured after Grasshopper Mouse.
- The word "Genus" in "Genus/Species" on the Creature Features info section is misspelled as "Genua" (while technically an existing word, it is not a plural for "Genus").
- The card shares the photo of the owl holding the frog and the illustrations for "Air, Land and Tree" with the Eastern Screech Owl's (Otus asio) Wildlife Explorer card. The latter, titled "Nocturnal Hunt", has an extra first image of the owl perched in a tree.