How long do western screech-owls live?

Longevity records come from birds that were marked and later found again, usually through bird banding, or from birds kept in zoos. They show what a Western Screech-Owl can survive to, not what most do. This one comes from captivity, where there are no predators, storms or food shortages, so wild western screech-owls rarely come close.

For small birds, the first year is the hardest. Many eggs and nestlings are lost to predators and weather, and young birds that leave the nest still have to learn to find food and avoid hawks and cats. A bird that survives its first winter has a much better chance of living several more years. That is why average lifespans in the wild are short even when the record is long.

Western screech-owls usually start breeding at about 1 year old. Each season a pair lays 1–7 eggs and raises 1 per season, with eggs taking 21–30 days to hatch.

Oldest recorded ages for other owls on this site.

• Barred Owl34 years
• Great Horned Owl29 years
• Eastern Screech-Owl20.7 years
• Northern Saw-whet Owl17.5 years
• Burrowing Owl11 years

• Western Screech-Owl: identification, diet and range
• Baby western screech-owls: eggs, nestlings and fledglings