screech owl definition of screech owl in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

screech owl

Any of numerous owls of the genus Otus (family Strigidae). Both New World species and Old World species (called scops owls) have a facial disk and ear tufts. In spite of their name, they do not in fact screech. Their colouring resembles tree bark, and they are 8–12 in. (20–30 cm) long. They eat mostly small mammals, birds, and insects. Notable species are the common screech owl (O. asio) of North America, the flammulated owl (O. flammeolus) of western North America, and the common scops owl (O. scops) of southern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

screech owl

1. a small North American owl, Otus asio, having ear tufts and a reddish-brown or grey plumage

2. Brit any owl that utters a screeching cry

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No references found	Not even rats in the wall, for they were starved out, or rather were never baited in -- only squirrels on the roof and under the floor, a whip-poor-will on the ridge-pole, a blue jay screaming beneath the window, a hare or woodchuck under the house, a screech owl or a cat owl behind it, a flock of wild geese or a laughing loon on the pond, and a fox to bark in the night. Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context Then, as he wended his way by swamp and stream and awful woodland, to the farmhouse where he happened to be quartered, every sound of nature, at that witching hour, fluttered his excited imagination, --the moan of the whip-poor-will from the hillside, the boding cry of the tree toad, that harbinger of storm, the dreary hooting of the screech owl, to the sudden rustling in the thicket of birds frightened from their roost. The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Irving, Washington View in context Every sound startled them, even that of their own footsteps among the dry leaves, and the hooting of a screech owl, from the shattered chimney of the neighboring ruin, made their blood run cold. Adventure of the Black Fisherman by Irving, Washington View in context	scratch filter scratch hardness scratch hardness test scratch knife scratch monkey scratch tape scratch tool scratch-brush finish scratch-brushed finish scratch-pad memory scratchboard scratched scratcher scratching scratchpad Scratchpad I Scratchpad II scratchwork scream and die screamer screaming screaming cellphone screaming tty scree screech screech owl screeching screed screed coat screed rail screed strip screed wire screeding Screen Screen Adaptation screen analysis screen angle screen blanker screen block-wall screen burn screen capture screen cloth screen deck screen dissipation screen door screen dryer screen dump screen facade screen façade screen font screen format	Screaming Yellow Theater screamingly screamingly screamingly screamingly screams screams screams screams bloody murder screams bloody murder screams bloody murder screams bloody murder screams blue murder screams blue murder screams blue murder screams blue murder Screams of Abel SCREC SCRED scree scree Scree slope Scree slope screech screech screech Screech (disambiguation) Screech (disambiguation) Screech bird Screech hawk screech owl screech owls screech owls Screech rain screech-owl screeched screeched screecher screecher Screechers Screechers screeches screeches screechier screechier screechiest screechiest screechiness screechiness screeching screeching screeching screechy screechy screed screed screed coat screed rail screed rail screed strip screed strip

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Not even rats in the wall, for they were starved out, or rather were never baited in -- only squirrels on the roof and under the floor, a whip-poor-will on the ridge-pole, a blue jay screaming beneath the window, a hare or woodchuck under the house, a screech owl or a cat owl behind it, a flock of wild geese or a laughing loon on the pond, and a fox to bark in the night.

Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context

Then, as he wended his way by swamp and stream and awful woodland, to the farmhouse where he happened to be quartered, every sound of nature, at that witching hour, fluttered his excited imagination, --the moan of the whip-poor-will from the hillside, the boding cry of the tree toad, that harbinger of storm, the dreary hooting of the screech owl, to the sudden rustling in the thicket of birds frightened from their roost.

The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Irving, Washington View in context

Every sound startled them, even that of their own footsteps among the dry leaves, and the hooting of a screech owl, from the shattered chimney of the neighboring ruin, made their blood run cold.

Adventure of the Black Fisherman by Irving, Washington View in context