---
title: "Eastern Screech-Owl"
description: "Megascops asio — Birds. The eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) or eastern screech-owl is a stocky, short-tailed owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/eastern-screech-owl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eastern Screech-Owl

> Megascops asio — Birds. The eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) or eastern screech-owl is a stocky, short-tailed owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada.

- Scientific name: *Megascops asio*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 26349
- Wikidata: [Q251939](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q251939)
- iNaturalist taxon: [19765](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19765)

## Names

- en: Eastern Screech-Owl
- de: Ostkreischeule
- es: Tecolote del Este
- fr: Petit-duc maculé
- nl: Oostelijke schreeuwuil
- pl: Syczoń krzykliwy

## Countries with the most observations

US (19262), CA (4199), MX (272)

## Summary

The eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) or eastern screech-owl is a stocky, short-tailed owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. Mid-sized for a screech owl, the species resides in most types of woodland habitats across its range and is relatively adaptable to urban and developed areas compared to other owls. Although it often lives in close proximity to humans, the eastern screech owl frequently avoids detection due to its strictly nocturnal habits.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_screech_owl

## Photo

![Eastern Screech-Owl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eastern-screech-owl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Eric Bartkowski · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/191174335

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eastern-screech-owl?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).