Northern Saw-whet Owl

About the Northern Saw-whet Owl
Also known as: Acadian Owl, Blind Owl, Kirkland's Owl,Sparrow Owl, White-fronted Owl, Farmland Owl, Little Nightbird, Queen Charlotte Owl, Whet-saw Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is the smallest owl in Eastern North America. It has a round face with big yellow eyes. The underparts are pale with dark streaks and the upperparts are brown with white spots.

Saw-whet Owls usually nest in abandoned woodpecker holes. Some of these owls are permanent residents while others may migrate south or move down from higher elevations.

Find cute products & gifts with our Birdorable Northern Saw-whet Owl

Details & Statistics

Conservation

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

International Names

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