hoot owl

any of various owls that hoot.

Origin of hoot owl

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

From the Bowhead the sound comes like the drawn-out "hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo" of the hoot-owl.

The New North |Agnes Deans Cameron
Very often they sighed, and sometimes there was a pensive quietness broken only by the hoot-owl.

A Little Florida Lady |Dorothy C. Paine
The distant sound of a hoot-owl startled Flea from her tears.

From the Valley of the Missing |Grace Miller White
She goes 'bout the lake doin' nothin' but hollerin' like a hoot-owl, and she don't have enough to eat.

From the Valley of the Missing |Grace Miller White

The call of the hoot-owl was too familiar to the Coombeland men to deceive.

Crown and Sceptre |George Manville Fenn

hoot owl

any owl that utters a hooting cry, as distinct from a screech owl