screech owl

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various small owls of the genus Otus, especially O. asio, of North America, having ear tufts and a quavering whistlelike call.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An owl that screeches, as distinguished from one that hoots: applied to various species. In Great Britain it is a common name of the barn-owl. In the United States it is specifically applied to the small horned owls of the genus Scops (or Megascops). See red owl (under red), and compare saw-whet.

Wiktionary

1. n. A North American owl belonging to the Megascops genus.
2. n. UK the barn owl, Tyto alba.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) The European barn owl. The name is applied also to other species.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any owl that has a screeching cry
2. n. small North American owl having hornlike tufts of feathers whose call sounds like a quavering whistle