screech owls

Noun

screech owl (plural screech owls)

1. Any New World owl of genus Megascops.
   • The screech owls winter in the north and are distinctly farsighted in preparing for winter.1911, Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study, 24th edition, published 1939, page 102
2. (UK) A common barn owl, of species Tyto alba, found almost worldwide.
   • The poet Propertius refers to a philtre containing snake bones, a toad, and the feathers of a screech-owl.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 186
3. A mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus).