Western Screech Owl

 

A short series of high toots accelerating through the night announces the presence of a Western Screech-Owl. These compact owls—not much taller than a standard pair of binoculars—hunt in woods and deserts of western North America, where their wide-ranging diet includes everything from worms and crayfish to rats and bats. Found in urban parks and residential areas as well as wilder places, Western Screech-Owls nest in tree cavities, and will readily take to backyard nest boxes. Cornell All About Birds

This Western Screech Owl image was taken near Portal Arizona in the Huachuca Mountains.

The diminutive Western Screech-Owl is a predator to be reckoned with: it occasionally takes prey bigger than its own body, including cottontail rabbits. At other times they’ve been seen eating bats, insects and earthworms, which they collect from rainy roads and even compost piles.