Small banner


Northern Saw-whet Owl

Home

Bird Watching

Migration

Nest Boxes

Raptor Centers

Printer friendly page
Printer friendly page


Raptors

Scientific Classification

Bird Parts

Falconry

Owl Adoption

Conservation
Scientific name: Aegolius acadicus
Family name: Strigidae

Are they endangered? No, these owls are not endangered worldwide. [IUCN Red list: Least concern]   

What are their past/present problems?  Humans cause these owls a problem by air pollution and cutting down forests where they live.

What do they look like?  They are really cute and small with bright yellow eyes.  Their faces are white and they have a dark gray beak.  Their bodies are mostly brown with white spots. 

 How big are they?  These owls are about 7-8 inches long.  If their wings are spread out, they would be about 1 ½ feet wide.

Northern Saw-whet Owl
How many eggs do they lay?  The female lays from 4-7 white eggs once a year.  The eggs hatch in about 4 weeks.

How long do the fledglings stay in the nest?  Their nests are usually in holes and empty spaces of trees or nests that other birds left.  The young birds [owlets] leave the nest in about a month.
When do they hunt?  They hunt at night (nocturnal).

What do they eat?  They like to eat MICE!  Since they are so small, a large MOUSE is two meals. They also like birds, bats, and bugs.
Where do they live?  They live in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America.
What kind of place do they like to live in?  They like the edges of thick pine forests where they can hide easily.
Interesting facts:
They don’t migrate because they are already in a warm climate.

This owl’s call sounds like a saw being wetted, which is another name for sharpened.  This is why it is called the Saw-whet Owl.

Works Cited:

Aegolius acadicus.   14 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/48588/all>.

Alsop, Fred.  Birds of North America.  New York:  DK Publishing, 2001.

Laubach, Christyna.  Raptor!  North Adams, MA:  Storey Books, 2002.

Northern Saw-whet owl.  4 Oct. 2007.  <http://www.peregrinefund.org/Explore_Raptors/owls/nsawwhet.html>.

Northern Saw-whet owl. 14 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl.html>.

Northern Saw-whet owl.  14 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Aegolius&species=acadicus>.

Our site is best viewed with: 1024x768 screen resolution, Acrobat Reader 7+,
Adobe Flash Player 9, and Windows Media Player.

 
Links
Friends with Feathers Northern Saw-whet
Owl info
Owl Pellets
Owl Quiz
Owl Puppet Project
Trivia game

 

Gross facts
When there is lots of prey around, these owls will store dead prey for another time.  If it gets frozen, they will sit on it to thaw it out.

 
Citations Site Map Team About Mouse Mail Dictionary