SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We ihank C. M. Falconer for help with banding and 
reobservations. and D. C. Tozer, M. R. Marshall, and an 
anonymous referee for insightful comments on earlier drafts 
of the manuscript. We also thank the Ganaraska Region 
Cou'-ervation Authority for access to the study area and the 
Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation for providing funding 
supporting this research. 
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123(3):641-646, 2011 
Evening Nest-box Departure Times of Eastern Screech-Owls 
Werner G. Deuser 1 
ABSTRACT.—I observed 514 nest-box departures of 
•2 different individual Eastern Screech-Owls {Megti- 
scops asio), both males and females, at dusk in 
Falmouth, Massachusetts over a period of 12 years 
and compared their departure times to local sunset. 
1 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole. 
MA 02540, USA; e-mail: wdeuser@whoi.edu 
Mean (=: SD) delay after sunset was 21 i 12 mm, 
identical for males and females, but longer than those 
reported for more southerly locations. Females departed 
significantly earlier on overcast evenings. Females 
advanced their departure times during the nestling 
period by as much as 2.6 min/day. on average, over a 
25-day period. The observed differences in departure 
delays among populations in Texas, the Washington, 
D.c” area, and Massachusetts may be an expression of 
