Barred Owl
Strix varia
A barred owl is a medium-sized owl.
It is grey-brown colored with horizontal white streaks on
its chest and vertical streaks on its stomach. These
streaks, which look like bars, are the reason they are
called "barred" owls.
Their eyes are brown, they have a yellow sharp beak, and a long tail. It has a round head with no ear tufts. They range from 40-63 cm in length, and their wingspan is 96-125 cm. The average male weighs 617g and the average female weighs 779g.
Owls see better at night, but they can also see during the day because they have a special inner eyelid that blocks bright light. Having both eyes in front of the head gives them better depth perception than most birds.
Often, the call of the barred owl sounds like a person saying "Who cooks for you?" These owls like to sit in trees with plenty of branches and moss to camouflage them. They have soft feathers that are very quiet, which allow them to sneak up on prey. Because of these feathers, they flap their wings a lot when they fly instead of soaring, causing the owl to work hard when it flies.
Barred owls nest in the holes left by broken branches, with added soft feathers or grass. If they can not find a tree, they sometimes use an old hawk or squirrel's nest. They rarely build their own nests. They do not migrate, and each year they use the same nest. A mother owl lays two or three white eggs, and when they hatch, the owls' eyes stay closed for a week. They cannot fly for about 40 days.
In the wild, barred owls mainly eat meadow voles, but also eat shrews, deer mice, rats, squirrels, young rabits, bats, moles, opossums, mink and weasels. Their only natural enemy is the Great Horned Owl. They live up to 10 years, compared with 25 in captivity.
Barred owls are found in moist forests, wooded swamps, and woodlands near waterways throughout the eastern half of the United States. They are sometimes also found in the Northwest.
At the EcoTarium, there are two barred owls, a male and a female. They are found across from the Bald Eagles along the path to the museum from the parking lot. They are fed mice.
Written by Naturalist Brie Martin