A man in Amherst, Massachusetts, walked out to his car on New Year’s Day and opened the door. To his utter disbelief, an owl stared back at him from the passenger seat headrest.
Cummington Wildlife
All of the car doors and windows were closed. The owl hadn’t been there the last time the car was driven.
The baffled man called Cummington Wildlife, who directed him to Tom Ricardi, a licensed rehabilitator with Massachusetts Bird of Prey Rehab.
Based on the description the man gave, Ricardi expected to find an enormous bird waiting for him in the snow-covered car.
“When I got there, it was a little five-inch owl,” Ricardi told The Dodo. “I kind of laughed.”
Cummington Wildlife
Ricardi identified the bird as an eastern screech owl, but he was just as stumped as the caller about how the owl got into the car.
“I’ve had birds go into the engine compartment to keep warm,” he said. “I think he came in probably through the air conditioning vent or something like that, because there was no other logical explanation.”
Another mystery: Why would the owl go through all that trouble to sit shotgun in a car?
As soon as Ricardi gently reached in and picked up the owl, who’d fallen asleep, he got his answer.
Cummington Wildlife
“He was literally starving,” Ricardi said. “He was nothing … Very, very weak.”
Ricardi believes the owl’s frail condition combined with recent frigid temperatures sent the poor guy in search of shelter. In fact, Ricardi wondered if the bird hadn’t snuck into the car elsewhere and hid under the seat for a couple days.
“The first thing they try to do is hide,” Ricardi said. “It’s amazing … You know, screech owls have a very gentle nature about them.”
A screech owl curled up in the tiny crook of a tree. | Wendy Webb Photography/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Ricardi took the owl back to his rehab facility, where he offered the bird a hearty meal and gave him fluids. Within a few hours, the owl began eating on his own.
Once the temperatures warm up a bit, Ricardi plans to release the owl in a more owl-friendly area. For now, the sweet creature is recharging his batteries with Ricardi.
“He’s doing very, very well,” Ricardi said, noting, “He sleeps a lot.”
Which makes sense given the wild adventure he’s already been on in 2026.
