Q. Why are they called screech owls when the only sound I’ve ever heard them make are warbling noises that remind me of musical Morse code? A. I was able to answer this question a few years ago during ...

Great horned owls have always symbolized wisdom, knowledge, and the afterlife. In the wild, they are fierce predators and even fiercer protectors of their young, and this maternal owl in the below ...

The sound was unmistakable and led me outdoors to face the thick woods across the road. In the advancing twilight the sound pierced the darkness again, and then again. The ghostly mournful wail, best ...

Three screech-owls are found in North America: eastern, western and whiskered. But about 22 screech-owl species are found in the world, all in the Americas. Estimated breeding populations of ...

Eastern screech owls are famous for searching for a comfortable spot in mid-winter and choosing a chimney for its safety from winter storms. You often hear the muffled scratching as he works his way ...

Spotting an owl glide through the treetops is a thrilling experience, its silhouette a shadow against the twilight sky. A hallmark of owls is their completely silent flight. But when they do make ...

Lately, you may have heard them: “hoot” owls. No such critter named “hoot owl” appears in any field guide, but their calls earn them the moniker. The “hoo-hoo-hoo” kinds of calls belong to either ...

A listener responded to our invitation to send recordings of backyard wildlife with audio of a spooky bird screech. An expert at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology helped solve the mystery. OK, that's not ...

The Amazon rainforest is teeming with creatures unknown to science--and that's just in broad daylight. After dark, the forest is a whole new place, alive with nocturnal animals that have remained even ...

On the chilly morning of Dec. 5, Alex Patton headed into a coffee shop in Utica. On his way out, he glanced across the nearby stream and noticed the bird in the accompanying photo. Sharp-eyed Patton ...