From Blackland Prairie Raptor Center

And so it began… On January 27th, we received our first baby Eastern Screech Owl! Someone found this owlette on the ground and brought it to our raptor clinic. The owl likely fell out of its nest. We placed it in a basket to weigh. The little owl is 88 grams, a little more than 3 ounces. Our examination found no significant issues, other than it being a little thin. It quickly ate all of the food we gave it. It was feisty and clacking at us. All good signs.

The Eastern Screech Owl exhibits two primary color morphs – gray and rufous. Gray morphs are predominantly gray with little to no rufous coloring, providing excellent camouflage among tree bark.

Rufous (red) morphs exhibit a warmer, redder plumage with heavy rufous barring on the underparts, often appearing almost entirely reddish-brown. These color variations help the owls blend into their surroundings for hunting and evading predators. This little owl is already showing rufous colors.