CreatureData

Western screech owl

Megascops kennicottii (D. G. Elliot, 1867)

LCLeast Concernowls

The western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 141.8 g to 194 g and live up to 13.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii)
Photo: Randy R. Magnuson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the western screech owl

Weight
141.8 g – 194 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
60 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
13.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
19 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.25src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the western screech owl?

WESTERN SCREECH OWL · WINGSPAN 60 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 60 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the western screech owl is about 35% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the western screech owl live?

Not recorded

What is the western screech owl?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii) is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott and roughly translates to "Kennicott's great/large owl".

From the Wikipedia article “Western screech owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_screech_owl&oldid=1377744142), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the western screech owl endangered?

The western screech owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the western screech owl classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderStrigiformes
  5. familyStrigidae
  6. genusMegascops
  7. SpeciesMegascops kennicottii (D. G. Elliot, 1867)

Synonyms Megascops kennicottii saturatus, Otus kennicotti, Otus kennicotti kennicotti, Otus kennicottii, Otus kennicottii, Otus kennicottii kennicottii, Otus kennicottii saturatus, Scops kennicottii

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • Tecolote occidentalEnglish
  • Western screech-owlEnglish
  • Western screech-owlEnglish
  • Western screech-owlEnglish
  • xot de CalifòrniaCatalan
  • výreček západníCzech
  • Vestamerikansk DværghornugleDanish
  • WestkreischeuleGerman
  • okcidenta kriĉostrigoEsperanto
  • Autillo occidentalSpanish
  • Autillo californianoSpanish
  • Tecolote del OesteSpanish
  • läänepällEstonian
  • lännenkirkupöllönenFinnish
  • Asion des montagnesFrench
  • Petit-duc des montagnesFrench
  • stjenjački ćukCroatian
  • nyugati füleskuvikHungarian
  • Assiolo americano occidentaleItalian
  • ニシアメリカオオコノハズクJapanese
  • vakarinis apuokėlisLithuanian
  • Rietumkrasta pūcīteLatvian
  • Westelijke SchreeuwuilDutch
  • totemugleNorwegian
  • syczoń zachodniPolish
  • corujinha-do-oestePortuguese
  • coruja-das-torres-do-oestePortuguese
  • corujinha-da-califórniaPortuguese
  • Западная совкаRussian
  • Западная малая ушастая совкаRussian
  • výrček západnýSlovak
  • Zapadni američki ćukSerbian
  • västlig skrikuvSwedish
  • Batılı PuhucukTurkish
  • сплюшка західнаUkrainian
  • 西美角鸮Chinese
  • 西方鳴角鴞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the western screech owl

Other species in the same genus Megascops.

CompareWestern screech owl vs Eastern screech owlWestern screech owl vs Tropical screech owlWestern screech owl vs Whiskered screech owlWestern screech owl vs Bare-shanked screech owl

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the western screech owl?

An adult western screech owl weighs 141.8 g – 194 g and has a wingspan of 60 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the western screech owl endangered?

The western screech owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the western screech owl live?

The western screech owl has a recorded lifespan of 13.5 years.

What kind of animal is the western screech owl?

The western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-screech-owl

MLA

“Western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-screech-owl.

BibTeX
@misc{western_screech_owl_2026,
  title = {Western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-screech-owl},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}