Author: Marcus Ellery

The Great Gray Owl is North America’s tallest owl, a silvery phantom of northern forests that can plunge through deep snow to catch prey it hears. Here is how to identify it and how it lives.

The Spotted Owl is a threatened, dark-eyed owl of western old-growth forests, famous from the timber wars and now pressured by the Barred Owl. Here is how to identify it and why it matters.

The Long-eared Owl is a slender, secretive woodland owl with tall ear tufts and an orange face. Here is how to identify it, its low hoots, its winter roosts, and how it lives.

The Short-eared Owl is a grassland owl that hunts by day with a moth-like, floppy flight over open fields. Here is how to identify it, where to find it, and how it lives.

The Burrowing Owl is a small, long-legged owl that lives underground in burrows and hunts by day. Here is how to identify it, its unusual habits, and why it needs our help.

The Snowy Owl is a large white Arctic owl that sometimes wanders far south in winter. Here is how to identify it, what it eats, why it is active by day, and its conservation status.

The Barn Owl is a pale, heart-faced owl and the world’s best rodent hunter, famous for its eerie screech instead of a hoot. Here is how to identify it, what it eats, and how to help it.

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is one of North America’s smallest and cutest owls, named for its tooting call. Here is how to identify it, its migration, and why it is so hard to find.

The Western Screech-Owl is a small, gray, ear-tufted owl of western North America known for its bouncing-ball call. Here is how to identify it and tell it from the Eastern Screech-Owl.

The Eastern Screech-Owl is a small, camouflaged owl of eastern woods and suburbs that comes in red and gray forms. Here is how to identify it, its trilling call, and how to attract one.