Credit: Larry Bond
North American field guide
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Aegolius acadicus
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Identification
Field notes
18-23 cm (7-9") Fairly common and widespread. Strictly nocturnal and difficult to locate. Thus seldom seen unless spotted roosting in young evergreens or thickets.
Small short-tailed robin-sized owl with yellow eyes and no ear tufts. White below with brown streaks. Brown above with fine streaking on forehead and crown. Similar Boreal Owl has spotting here and a distinct black bordered facial disk.
Song: repeated "took took".
Details in the field
Photo gallery
Credit: Larry Bond
Credit: Greg Schneider
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Northern Saw-whet Owl
Credit: Larry BondBird Advisor Identification rules 1 variant · 1 rule
These are the observation paths the Bird Advisor can use to identify this species. Each rule is an alternative match.
Northern Saw-whet Owl
1 ruleRule 1 7 criteria · confidence 3
- Did the owl have EAR TUFTS ?
- No · Unknown
- What SIZE was the TAIL ?
- Very short · Short · Medium · Unknown
- What SHAPE was the BILL ?
- Hooked · Unknown
- What LENGTH was the BILL ?
- Very short · Short · Unknown
- What colour were the EYES ?
- White or light gray · Yellow or olive · Unknown
- How BIG was the bird ?
- Robin-sized
- What TYPE of bird was seen ?
- Owl