As is usual with owls, incubation starts with the laying of the first egg, resulting in staggered hatching. This can mean great disparity in size and the development of the chicks, sometimes resulting in the last to hatch not surviving. There is usually no nest, but the owls sometimes use rubbish or debris. Food includes mice, rats, gophers and some birds. It has also been known to feed on bats, frogs, lizards, large insects and even fish.
Typical call is a raspy, hissing screech.
The owl's habitat is woodlands, groves, fields, farms, towns, canyons or cliffs.