Bird name:

Barred Owl

Strix varia

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

BADO

Code 6

STRVAR

ITIS

177921

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Marshes, freshwater, Forest, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Thought to pair for life

Breeding Population:

Widespread, Very common to common

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

2 - 3

Incubation Days:

28 - 33

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Uses abandoned nests.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Barred Owl: Medium-sized, large-headed owl with large, brown eyes, concentric rings around pale face, and no ear tufts. Upperparts are brown with white markings. Underparts are white with dark bars on breast and dark streaks on belly. Heavily streaked, spotted, and variegated brown, white, and buff overall. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Barred Owl: Widespread in the eastern half of North America; spreading westward in the northern portion of range, already occurring in Washington State, is causing concern that competition and hybridization may impact populations of endangered Spotted Owls. Preferred habitats include deep, moist forests, wooded swamps, and woodlands near waterways.

Breeding and Nesting

Barred Owl: Nests in cavities or use abandoned Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, squirrel, or crow nests. Lays two to three white eggs. Incubation ranges from 28 to 33 days and is carried out by the female; male brings her food on the nest.

Foraging and Feeding

Barred Owl: Mostly nocturnal and crepuscular; feeds on a wide variety of prey, including voles, shrews, mice, rats, squirrels, young rabbits, bats, moles, opossums, mink, weasels, and some birds; also eats small fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards, crayfish, scorpions, beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers.

Vocalization

Barred Owl: Call is a resounding "hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ooo", often phrased as "Who, cooks, for-you Who, cooks, for-you, all" with the last syllable dropping off noticeably.

Similar Species

Barred Owl: Great Gray Owl is larger, grayer, and has yellow eyes and longer tail. Spotted Owl has white spots underparts.

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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.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

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