Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus Megascops with 22 living species. For most of the 20th century, screech owls were considered part of the genus Otus along with the Old World scops owls but were reassigned to Megascops in the 2000s based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological, and DNA sequence data. Screech owls are restricted to the Americas. Some species formerly placed with them are now considered more distinct (see below for details).

Closest relatives