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saw-whet owl
noun
: a very small harsh-voiced North American owl (Aegolius acadicus) that is largely dark brown above and chestnut streaked with white beneath
called also saw-whet
Examples of saw-whet owl in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Northern saw-whet owl doesn’t even weigh half a pound and preys on mice.
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Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2024
The Western saw-whet owl likes a twelve-year-old thicket of fir and ponderosa pine; deer find soft green bites in a four-year-old stand of red cedar and white pine.
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The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
An orphaned northern saw-whet owl returned to the wilds of Anchorage on Sunday after two months in the care of Bird Treatment and Learning Center.
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Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News, 24 May 2024
In a social media post on Tuesday, the Fairfax County Police Department said its animal protection officers rescued a northern saw-whet owl on Nov. 17 in the Oakton area.
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Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2021
The bald eagle stood in stark contrast to the tiny saw-whet owl the organization also displayed.
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Chris M. Worrell, cleveland, 16 Dec. 2021
The adult northern saw-whet owl, from the smallest owl species in the Northeast, was found trapped in the 75-foot tree; its rescue amassed a following on social media (see: #RockefellerOwl).
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Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2020
The red cedar provides respite for a rare wintering bird called the northern saw-whet owl.
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Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 24 Dec. 2020
Wild things Consider the recent quandary of a northern saw-whet owl, one of the smallest owls in the U.S., trying to find its way home.
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Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2020
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Word History
Etymology
from the supposed resemblance of its cry to the sound made in filing a saw
First Known Use
1834, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Saw-whet owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saw-whet%20owl. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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