screech owl

noun

1. any owl that has a screeching cry

• Hypernyms: ↑owl, ↑bird of Minerva, ↑bird of night, ↑hooter

2. small North American owl having hornlike tufts of feathers whose call sounds like a quavering whistle

• Syn: ↑Otus asio

• Hypernyms: ↑owl, ↑bird of Minerva, ↑bird of night, ↑hooter

• Member Holonyms: ↑Otus, ↑genus Otus

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noun

1. : barn owl

2. : any of numerous small owls of the genus Otus that range from southern Canada to Brazil, are closely related to the Old World scops owls, and have erectile ear tufts and plumage with blackish streaks and vermiculation; especially : an eastern No. American owl (O. asio) that is represented by several geographical varieties in the west and southwest and that exhibits two distinct phases of coloration consisting of a reddish brown and a gray

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1. any of numerous small American owls of the genus Otus, having hornlike tufts of feathers, as O. asio, of eastern North America.

2. (not in technical use) any owl having a harsh cry, esp. the barn owl. Also, screech-owl.

[1585-95]

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screech owl noun

1. Any of various small N American owls characterized by a long quavering cry

2. The barn owl

3. A bringer of bad news

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Main Entry: ↑screech

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screech owl,

1. a small, usually gray or reddish-brown owl with hornlike tufts of feathers and a long, wavering cry rather than a hoot. Screech owls occur in several color phases and varieties.

2. any owl that screeches, as distinguished from one that hoots.

3. British. the barn owl. It has a very shrill, explosive cry.

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a) n. a small American owl with a screeching call and distinctive ear tufts. ●

b) Otus asio, family Strigidae

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noun, pl ⋯ owls [count]

: a kind of small American owl that has bunches of feathers that look like ears on the sides of its head