Northern Saw-whet Owl

About the Northern Saw-whet Owl

The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus Aegolius are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can be found in dense thickets, often at eye level, although they can also be found some 20 ft (6.1 m) up. Saw-whets are often in danger of being preyed upon by larger birds of prey. The northern saw-whet owl is a migratory bird without any strict pattern.

Renowned French-American ornithologist John James Audubon noted, during his early-1800s exploration of eastern North America, that Aegolius acadicus was already known in Massachusetts by the moniker saw-whet—likening this little owl's vocalizations to the rhythmic rasp of sharpening a saw on a whetting stone, a sound which was widely familiar and easily recognizable among most Americans of that era.

The genus name is Latin for a screech owl, the word came from the Ancient Greek aigōlios meaning "a bird of ill omen". The specific epithet acadicus is from "Acadia", the name of a former French colony in Nova Scotia. The northern saw-whet owl was formally described in 1788 by... Wikipedia →