South · Central Flyway
Owls in Texas
Owls in Texas come down to 12 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Horned Owl. Together they account for 138,272 of the 35 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 0.4% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl, American Barn Owl, Elf Owl, Short-eared Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Mottled Owl, Flammulated Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl. Owls are mostly nocturnal hunters, so they are far more often heard than seen; learning the calls is how most people find them. Several species nest in tree cavities or old woodpecker holes, and a few use open nest boxes.
Owls in Texas: every species, most-reported first
Every owl with at least 25 eBird records in the state from 2020–2024, most-reported first. The status label is derived from each species’ own monthly share of all state records.
1. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) — 47,699 records, 0.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Barred Owl (Strix varia) — 35,227 records, 0.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) — 27,686 records, 0.08% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) — 9,816 records, 0.03% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata) — 6,953 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) — 3,707 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in March, April, May and June with a peak in May.
7. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) — 2,594 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from November to February and peaking in December.
8. Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) — 1,811 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to August and peaking in June.
9. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) — 1,430 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in March, April, May and November with a peak in November.
10. Mottled Owl (Strix virgata) — 1,131 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from November to March and peaking in November.
11. Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) — 145 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in May and June with a peak in June.
12. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) — 73 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in June with a peak in June.
When to see owls in Texas
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, owls are most prominent in March, October and December and least in April and July. 5 of the 12 species are year-round — Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl and American Barn Owl — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Western Screech-Owl arrives around April and is mostly gone after August (peak June).
Winter visitors. Short-eared Owl arrives around November and leaves after February (peak December); Mottled Owl arrives around November and leaves after March (peak November).
Passage migrants. Elf Owl is reported mainly in March, April, May and June; Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is reported mainly in March, April, May and November; Flammulated Owl is reported mainly in May and June; Northern Saw-whet Owl is reported mainly in June.
Attracting owls to Texas backyards
You cannot feed owls, but you can host them: mature trees, a nest box of the right dimensions for the local species, and a yard without rodenticide (which poisons the owls that eat the rodents) are what matter.
In Texas the owl most likely to turn up is the Great Horned Owl, a year-round resident, followed by the Barred Owl.
Owls in Texas: FAQ
How many species of owls are there in Texas?
12 species of owls have regular eBird records in Texas (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl, American Barn Owl, Elf Owl, Short-eared Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Mottled Owl, Flammulated Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl.
What is the most common owl in Texas?
The Great Horned Owl, with 47,699 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Barred Owl with 35,227. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see owls in Texas?
March, October and December, when the combined share of Texas eBird records belonging to owls is highest. Summer visitors such as the Western Screech-Owl arrive around April. Winter visitors such as the Short-eared Owl arrive around November.
More birds in Texas
Owls in other states
Owls in Texas: sources
Every number on this page comes from the EOD – eBird Observation Dataset published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and distributed through GBIF under a CC BY 4.0 license: Texas records from 2020–2024, retrieved 2026-09-18. Species are drawn from the families Strigidae and Tytonidae; only species with at least 25 records are listed, and a species is called a year-round resident when its monthly share of state records stays above 30% of its own peak in ten or more months. “Records” are individual eBird observations, so they reflect how often birders report a species, not a population count.