Eastern Screech Owl
Megascops asio (Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Strigiformes |
| Family | Strigidae |
| Genus | Megascops |
| Species | Megascops asio (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Trogloxene
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from two counties across two states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Oklahoma
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson
- Oklahoma
- Delaware
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2019.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- Canada
- N4 Apparently Secure
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Ontario
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Quebec
- S3 Vulnerable
- Manitoba
- S3 Vulnerable
- Saskatchewan
- S2 Imperiled
- Connecticut
- S5 Secure
- Ohio
- S5 Secure
- Massachusetts
- S5 Secure
- Minnesota
- SNR Unranked
- Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Arkansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- Illinois
- S5 Secure
- Delaware
- S5 Secure
- Maine
- S1B Critically Imperiled (breeding)
- Rhode Island
- S3B Vulnerable (breeding), S3N Vulnerable (non-breeding)
- New Jersey
- S4 Apparently Secure
- New Hampshire
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Louisiana
- S5 Secure
- Iowa
- S4B Apparently Secure (breeding), S4N Apparently Secure (non-breeding)
- South Dakota
- S5 Secure
- Texas
- S5B Secure (breeding)
- Montana
- S3 Vulnerable
- South Carolina
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Oklahoma
- SNR Unranked
- Pennsylvania
- S4B Apparently Secure (breeding)
- West Virginia
- S5B Secure (breeding), S5N Secure (non-breeding)
- Michigan
- S5 Secure
- Missouri
- SNR Unranked
- Maryland
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- S5 Secure
- New York
- S5 Secure
- Wyoming
- S3 Vulnerable
- District of Columbia
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Mississippi
- S5 Secure
- Indiana
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Colorado
- S4B Apparently Secure (breeding)
- Nebraska
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Vermont
- S3 Vulnerable
- Kansas
- S5 Secure
- Kentucky
- S5B Secure (breeding), S5N Secure (non-breeding)
- North Carolina
- S4 Apparently Secure
- North Dakota
- SNR Unranked
- Alabama
- S5 Secure
- Florida
- S5 Secure
- Wisconsin
- S5B Secure (breeding)
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2023 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
- Heath, D.R., Saugey, D.A. & Heidt, G.A. 1986. Abandoned mine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 40: 33–36.
- McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
- McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
How to cite this account
Megascops asio (Linnaeus, 1758). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2623. https://cavebiology.org/species/megascops-asio/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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