Western Screech-Owl

Size: 7-9 inches tall; less than half a pound

Range: Southeastern Alaska through western Canada and the western U.S. to central Mexico

Status: Least Concern

The Western Screech-Owl plays host to a surprising houseguest: blind snakes—worm-like reptiles that dwell underground—that the owls ferry, live, back to their nests. This unlikely act of mercy is actually a child-rearing strategy: Parents that share their nests with the strange bedfellows have better success at raising young. That’s because the snakes devour pests like ants and flies, whose larvae consume food reserved for owlets.

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