Bird

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Names as given by USGS GAP.

Winter in Alabama, in the USGS range maps. Its habitat models include 7 habitats found here.

Seasons here: Winter
Breeding: Nonbreeding
Range: 67 of 67 counties
Habitats: 7

Adult Northern Saw-whet Owl, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Troy B, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 182283589. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Seasons in Alabama: Winter
Breeding: Nonbreeding
Counties in known range: 67 of 67
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

Southeast habitat models (USGS, 2001 land cover). The bird is not in every place a habitat occurs. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models Summer model Winter model

Habitats in Alabama 7

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. Shared habitat, not food.

1 of 7

WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp SystemsRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. 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.

Winter

Dry forests and woodlands

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

Summer and winterAllegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) 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.

WinterEast 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; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

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.

WinterSouth-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Moist forests

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

WinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Other habitats in its models (48)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama.

Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Winter
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Winter
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Winter
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Winter
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Winter
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Winter
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter
Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Winter
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter
Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Winter
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter
Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter