Vocabulary
- Nocturnal – occurring or active at night.
- Niche – where an animal fits in the environment, habitat or ecosystem; the specific role an animal plays in its ecosystem.
- Tufts – collection of threads, hair or feathers that are grouped together.
- Incubation – the process of keeping something in the right environment at the right temperature for the developmental process to occur.
- Owl pellet – the undigested parts of animals that an owl has eaten, such as fur and bones, that they regurgitate.
Fun Facts
- Screech owls have two morphs, or color phases. They can be either gray or red, and stay the same color their whole life.
- Red screech owls have a higher rate of metabolism than gray ones.
- Screech owls live in a wide variety of environments and eat a wide variety of food. They have the broadest niche of all owls in North America.
- The owl’s ears are offset so they can triangulate sounds and find their prey better.
- Their eggs take 27-35 days to incubate.
