Bird name:

Spotted Owl

Strix occidentalis

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

SPOW

Code 6

STROCC

ITIS

177925

Breeding Location:

Forests, dense old growth

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Rare to uncommon, In danger of habitat loss

Egg Color:

White with a buff tint

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

28 - 32

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Natural tree cavities. Platform nests constructed by squirrels, raptors, and wood rats.

Migration:

Irregular

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General

Spotted Owl: Medium-sized owl with white-spotted, brown upperparts and finely barred white underparts. Head lacks ear tufts. Eyes are brown. Wings are brown with white spots. Sexes are similar. Sometimes interbreeds with Barred Owls.

Range and Habitat

Spotted Owl: Found from southwestern British Columbia south through the mountains of Washington, Oregon, and California, the western slopes of Sierra Nevada, and the southern Rockies; also occurs in Utah and central Colorado through Arizona's mountain ranges, New Mexico, extreme western Texas, and central Mexico. Preferred habitats include dense, dark, old growth or mixed mature and old growth coniferous forests.

Breeding and Nesting

Spotted Owl: Lays one to four buff tinted, white eggs in stick nests of Northern Goshawks, clumps of mistletoe, large tree cavities, broken tops of large trees, large branches, or cavities in banks and rock faces. Female incubates for 28 to 32 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Spotted Owl: Feeds on flying squirrels, wood rats, gophers, small rabbits, mice, and voles. Forages from a perch, swooping down to capture prey on the ground, usually at night.

Vocalization

Spotted Owl: Call is a mellow, four-note hoot, "hoo-hoohoo-hoo", given by both sexes. Location call is a series of 7 to 15 hoots, given during disputes and/or calls between paired birds; female often emits a loud "co-weeep" to contact her mate. Also barks in a series of three to seven notes. Other sounds include grunts, groans, and chatters.

Similar Species

Spotted Owl: Barred Owl is larger and has a breast pattern of horizontal and vertical marks. Hybrid offspring show a mix of both parents’ traits.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America