Barred Owl

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Strix varia

CLASSIFICATION

Class:

Aves

Order:

Strigiformes

Family:

Strigidae

Genus:

Strix

Species:

varia

SIZE

Length:

Male:

17-20 inches

Female:

20-24 inches

Weight:

Male:

1-1 1/2 pounds

Female:

1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds

Wingspan:

Male:

40-46 inches

Female:

45-50 inches

APPEARANCE:

The Barred Owl is a medium-sized gray-brown owl that is streaked with white horizontal barring on the chest and vertical barring on the belly. They are round-headed with a whitish-brown facial disk that has brown trim. There are no feather tufts. The eyes are brown, and the beak is yellow and almost covered by feathers. The dark brown back is spotted with white and the long tail is crossed with six or seven sharply defined bands of pale brown. There is no difference in plumage between the males and the larger females.

RANGE/DISTRIBUTION:

The Barred Owl is widespread in North America. They occur across most of the eastern half of the continent from Florida northward to southern Canada. They are also spreading westward in the northern portion of their range and already occur in Washington State. Some reports have them as far south as northern California. Their spread westward is causing concern as they may compete with the endangered Spotted Owl.

HABITAT/TERRITORY SIZE:

Barred Owls prefer deep moist forests, wooded swamps, and woodlands near waterways. The habitat is characterized as heavy mature woods with nearby open country for foraging. These vary from upland woods to lowland swamps usually near creeks, lakes or river valleys. The area should include densely foliated trees for daytime roosts, conifers or deciduous trees with year-round leaves for winter roosts, and the presence of large trees with suitable cavities for nesting. Territories are 213-903 acres, depending on prey availability.

MIGRATION:

Northern populations may be partially migratory depending on food resources.

DIET:

The Barred Owl has an extremely varied diet with meadow voles as its main prey followed by shrews and deer mice. Other mammals include rats, squirrels, young rabbits, bats, moles, opossums, mink, and weasels. Birds are taken occasionally including woodpeckers, grouse, quail, jays, blackbirds, and pigeons. They also eat small fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, crayfish, scorpions, beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. Barred Owls usually devour their prey on the spot but will take larger prey to a feeding perch and tear it apart before eating.

Their diet is virtually identical to their close but smaller relative the Spotted Owl, giving the Barred Owl an advantage where the territories have begun to significantly overlap in recent history.

HUNTING METHOD:

A very opportunistic hunter, the Barred Owl can sometimes be seen hunting before dark. This typically occurs during the nesting season or on dark and cloudy days. A Barred Owl will use a perch from which it dives upon its prey. Birds are taken as they settle into nocturnal roosts because Barred Owls cannot catch birds on the wing. They will also swoop down to the water’s edge to catch frogs, other amphibians, and occasionally fish.

While Barred Owls appear similar in size to Great Horned Owls, they are not nearly as powerful, possessing smaller talons and weighing significantly less.

BREEDING INFORMATION:

Barred Owls begin courtship activities in February with breeding occurring between March and August. They are monogamous and breed for life, using the same nest year after year. Males hoot and females give contact calls. As the nesting season approaches, males chase after females giving a variety of hooting and screeching calls. Males display by swaying back and forth and by raising their wings while sidling along a branch. Courtship feeding and mutual preening also occur. Barred Owls nest in cavities and will also use abandoned Red-Shouldered Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Squirrel, or Crow nests. Eggs number 2-4 and are white and almost perfectly round with a slightly rough texture. They are likely laid every 2 to 3 days and incubation begins with the first egg laid. The incubation period is 28-33 days, and the male brings food to the female while she is on the nest. The Barred Owl is single-brooded but has a long breeding season which allows for laying of replacement clutches if the first clutch or brood is lost. When the young leave the nest at about 4 weeks, they are not able to fly but will crawl out of the nest using their beak and talons to sit on branches. These owls are called “branchers” and will fledge at 35 to 40 days. Once they lose their down, there is no difference between adult and juvenile plumage. Parents care for the young for at least 4 months, much longer than most other owls. Young tend to disperse very short distances of usually less than 6 miles before settling.

BEHAVIOR:

The Barred Owl is a highly vocal owl giving a loud and resounding “hoo, hoo, too-Hoo, hoo, hoo, too-Hoo, ooo” which is often phrased as “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you, all?” The last syllable drops off noticeably. Like some other owl species, Barred Owls will call in the daytime as well as at night.

STATUS:

Most deaths are likely to be related to man (shooting, roadkills, etc.). Great Horned Owls are their only natural enemy.

FOLKLORE AND MYTHS:

The first description of a Barred Owl was published in 1799 by amateur naturalist Benjamin Smith Barton. In Latin, varia is a form of the word “various”, meaning diverse. Barred Owls have also been known as Northern Barred Owl, Swamp Owl, Striped Owl, Hoot Owl, Eight Hooter, Round-Headed Owl, Laughing Owl, Crazy Owl, Black-Eyed Owl, Le Chat-huant du Nord (French for “The Hooting Cat of the North”), Wood Owl and Rain Owl.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“The Owl Pages”, www.owlpages.com
The Illinois Raptor Center, “A Pictorial Guide to Illinois Birds”, www.illinoisraptorcenter.org
“Barred Owl Biology”, Owling.com, www.owling.com