He doesn’t even weigh a pound but can fake a crippled-bird display to lure intruders away from the nest or young on the ground. He entertains during breeding season with a loud eeee-yeerp, a waowk, waowk, waowk, like the barking of a dog, or a toot-toot-toot-toot-toot but remains silent after marriage when on his wintering grounds. He has a big head and bright-headlamp- yellow eyes, all the better to see his nocturnal mousy, small bird, and large insect prey. He and his wife raise up to eleven little short-ears in a season.