Bird

Eastern Screech-owl

Megascops asio

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17

Adult Eastern Screech-owl, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 120754057. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 17
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 17

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 17

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal GrasslandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory ModifierGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Year-round

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff; Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

Year-roundCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Other habitats in its models (109)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.

Elsewhere in the South (46)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
Florida Dry Prairie Year-round.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Year-round.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Year-round.
South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Year-round.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Year-round.

Northeast (6)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.

Midwest (7)

Central Mixedgrass Prairie Year-round.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.

Land cover and other classes (49)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Year-round.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
Recently Burned Year-round.
Recently Burned Forest Year-round.
Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Year-round.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Eastern Screech-owl uses many habitats in Alabama; these are its 3 most characteristic.