Barred Owl
Barred Owl
Strix varia
At a Glance
The rich baritone hooting of the Barred Owl is a characteristic sound in southern swamps, where members of a pair often will call back and forth to each other. Although the bird is mostly active at night, it will also call and even hunt in the daytime. Only a little smaller than the Great Horned Owl, the Barred Owl is markedly less aggressive, and competition with its tough cousin may keep the Barred out of more open woods.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Owls
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets
Region
California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Flap/Glide, Hovering
Population
3.500.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
The Barred Owl is a permanent resident throughout its range, although individuals may wander away from nesting habitat in winter.
Description
Both sexes; females are larger. Length: 17-20 in (43-51 cm); wingspan: 3 ft 3 in–3 ft 7 in (1.0–1.1 m); weight: 16-37 oz (470 g–1.05 kg). The Barred Owl is a large, round-headed owl with dark eyes and no "ear" tufts. Marked with horizontal bars on the chest and vertical stripes on the belly.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Mallard or Herring Gull
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Broad, Rounded
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
A loud barking hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo; hoo, hoo; hoo, hooo-aw! and a variety of other barking calls and screams.
Call Pattern
Complex, Falling, Undulating
Call Type
Hoot
Habitat
Woodlands, wooded river bottoms, wooded swamps. Favors mostly dense and thick woods with only scattered clearings, especially in low-lying and swampy areas. Most common in deciduous or mixed woods in the Southeast, but in the north and Pacific Northwest, the Barred Owl may be found in mature coniferous trees.
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Behavior
Eggs
2-3, rarely 4. White. Incubation is mostly or entirely by female, about 28-33 days; male brings food to incubating female.
Young
Female may remain with young much of time at first, while male hunts and brings back food for her and for young. Age of young at first flight about 6 weeks.
Feeding Behavior
The Barred Owl hunts by night or day, perhaps most at dawn and dusk. Seeks prey by watching from perch, also by flying low through forest; may hover before dropping to clutch prey in talons.
Diet
Mostly small mammals. The Barred Owl eats many mice and other small rodents, also squirrels (including flying squirrels), rabbits, opossums, shrews, and other small mammals. Also eats various birds, frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, some insects. May take aquatic creatures such as crayfish, crabs, and fish.
Nesting
Courtship involves both male and female bobbing and bowing heads, raising wings, and calling while perched close together. Male may feed female in courtship. Members of pair often call in duet. Nest site is in large natural hollow in tree, broken-off snag, or on old nest of hawk, crow, or squirrel. Rarely nests on ground. In east, often uses old Red-shouldered Hawk nest; hawk and owl may use same nest in alternate years.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Still widespread and common, although it may have declined in parts of the south with loss of swamp habitat. In recent decades, its range has expanded into the Northwest, and it is now competing there with the Spotted Owl.
Climate Threats Facing the Barred Owl
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
