saw-whet owl

\\ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷-\ noun also saw-whet

: a very small No. American owl (Cryptoglaux acadica) that is largely dark brown above and white beneath with vertical brown stripes on the breast, has a rasping metallic call suggesting the filing of a saw, and feeds chiefly on small rodents

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/saw"hwet', -wet'/

a very small North American owl, Aegolius acadicus, having streaked, brown plumage and lacking ear tufts.

[1825-35, Amer.; allegedly so called because its cry was likened to the noise of a saw being whetted]

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saw-whet owl «S _HWEHT»,

a small, brown and white owl of North America, which has an extremely harsh and rasping call: »

But we almost missed the tiny saw-whet owl, motionless on a dead limb just out of arm's reach (Atlantic).

╂[because the owl's call sounds like the filing of a saw]

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n. a small North and Central American owl with a call that resembles the sound of a saw blade being sharpened. ● Genus Aegolius, family Strigidae: two species, in particular the North American A. acadicus