Animal
Eastern screech owl
Megascops asio
A small (8–10 inch) owl that uses tree cavities for nesting and roosting — the most-common owl in NYC's parks and on Staten Island. Two color morphs (grey and red-brown) occur in the same populations. Year-round resident in the Greenbelt, Mount Loretto, Conference House, Snug Harbor, and the borough's residential blocks with mature trees. Distinctive whinnying and trilling calls; the iconic 'horror movie' owl call is often this species.
Scientific
Megascops asio is a 5–9 oz cavity-nesting owl. Two color morphs (grey-brown and red-brown) occur in mixed populations; ratios vary regionally with climate. Diet: small mammals, large insects, songbirds, occasional fish, frogs.
Cavity nester — uses old woodpecker holes, natural tree cavities, sometimes nest boxes. Pair-bonded; long-term territorial. Two distinctive call types: a descending whinny and a quavering trill. The “horror movie” owl call is often this species, despite popular cultural association with great horned owls.
On Staten Island
The most-common owl on the borough. Year-round resident across the Greenbelt, [[mount-loretto-unique-area|Mount Loretto]], [[conference-house-park|Conference House Park]], Snug Harbor, Latourette, residential blocks with mature trees. Active dawn and dusk; calls audible in early evening. Nest-box programs at SI parks and residential properties have supplemented natural cavity availability.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Substrate of: [[downy-woodpecker]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird and species accounts
- NYC Audubon SI raptor-monitoring records
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State Breeding Bird Atlas records
Rooted in life.
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Scientific
counterpart to
- Great horned owl the borough's two principal nesting owls — great horned owl in larger forests/sites, screech owl in smaller mature-tree habitats
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