Boreal Owl

Aegolius funereusOrder: STRIGIFORMES Family: True Owls (Strigidae)

Codes: Common Name: BOOW Scientific Name: AEGFUN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177938

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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.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl: Medium owl, white-spotted, brown upperparts and thick brown-streaked, white underparts. Head is black with numerous small white spots, facial disks bordered with black, eyes are yellow-orange. Short flights have rapid wingbeats, longer ones are bouyant with shallow, silent wing beats.

● Song: "ting, ting, ting, ting"

● Foraging & Feeding: Boreal Owl: Prey consists mainly of voles, lemmings, shrews, mice, and moles; occasionally takes small birds, squirrels, bats, frogs, and large beetles; hunts from low branch or tree trunk.

● Breeding & nesting: Boreal Owl: Two to six white eggs are laid in an old woodpecker hole or natural tree cavity; sometimes nests in artificial boxes. Incubation ranges from 28 to 29 days and is carried out by the female; male brings her food while on the nest.

● Similar species: Boreal Owl: Saw-whet Owl is smaller, has black bill and red-brown on facial disk.

Flight Pattern

Short flights., Rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: Boreal Owl: Occurs in most of northern Canada and the Rocky mountains down to New Mexico. Preferred habitats include old-growth forests with woodpecker cavities for nesting.

^BreedingPolygamous

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationIrregular

^Weight3.6 Ounces

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

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl

Flight Pattern