Species: Megascops kennicottii
Western Screech-Owl
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Megascops
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Tecolote Occidental - petit-duc des montagnes
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Strigiformes - Strigidae - Megascops - Prior to 1982 regarded as conspecific with O. ASIO. Populations in northwestern Mexico have been treated as separate species (O. VINACEUS) by some authors. Mixed pairs and overlap of ASIO and KENNICOTTII in Colorado and Texas is attributed to long-distance dispersal in marginally poor habitat. Sympatry without interbreeding with ASIO reported for western Edwards Plateau (Dixon 1989).
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A small owl.
Migration
true - false - false - In Rocky Mountains some individuals may descend to lower elevations or into more protected valleys for winter (Voous and Cameron 1989).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds mainly on small mammals (mice and shrews), insects, birds; sometimes also other small vertebrates. Diet may vary seasonally and geographically, depending on local prey abundance.
Reproduction Comments
Clutch size averages 3-4. Incubation about 26 days.
Ecology Comments
In central Idaho, home ranges of 2 radio-tagged birds reported as 3-9 ha and 29-58 ha based on 75% and 95% contour intervals, respectively. Distance between adjacent pairs ranges from ca. 50 up to a few hundred meters (see Johnsgard 1988).
Length
22
Weight
186
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2003-01-27
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-27
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&CA.SK=S1&US.AK=S2&US.AZ=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S4&US.ID=S4&US.KS=S1&US.MT=S3&US.NN=S3&US.NV=S4&US.NM=S4&US.OK=S2&US.OR=S4&US.TX=S4&US.UT=S3&US.WA=S4&US.WY=S2" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
FG - 20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles) - FG - RESIDENT: from south-coastal and southeastern Alaska, coastal and southern British Columbia, northern Idaho, western Montana, southeastern Colorado and extreme western Oklahoma south to southern Baja California, northern Sinaloa, in Mexican highlands to Distrito Federal, and to western Texas (AOU 1998, Cannings and Angell 2001). Apparently has expanded north into southern Alberta.
Global Range Code
FG
Global Range Description
20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)