• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,020,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	73000-230000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	-	estimated	-
Generation length	4.14 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population has been estimated at 180,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2020). In North America (USA and Canada), the total population size is estimated at 140,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2020). The species' population in North America (USA and Canada) is estimated to have a slightly negative trend, which equates to a small decline in population size over three generations (12.42 years) (Partners in Flight 2024). This species is considered to have a medium dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 14.6% within its mapped range over the past three generations (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). As North America holds the vast majority of the species' global range, the global population size is considered to be decreasing slowly over three generations.

Trend justification: This species has undergone a large and statistically significant decrease over the last 40 years in North America (-98.8% decline over 40 years, equating to a -67.2% decline per decade; data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native			yes
Guatemala	extant	native		yes
Honduras	extant	native		yes
Mexico	extant	native
Nicaragua	extant	native		yes
USA	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	breeding
Desert	Hot	suitable	non-breeding
Desert	Hot	suitable	breeding
Desert	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Desert	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	breeding
Forest	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 2860 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Western Screech-owl Megascops kennicottii. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/western-screech-owl-megascops-kennicottii on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.