Owl, barred

Common Name

Owl, barred

Scientific Name

Strix varia

Habitat

Barred Owls live in deep moist forests, wooded swamps and woodlands near waterways.

Status

Not threatened, but listed as a sensitive species in Alberta

Diet

Barred owls will hunt for whatever they can find. Their main prey are meadow voles, shrews and deer mice but they will also hunt for other small mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, crayfish and large insects.

Zoo Location

Canadian Wilds

Range

North America east of the Rockies and south to Texas and Florida. Also southern British Columbia.

Physical Description

Length: 43 - 61 cm (17 - 24 in) Weight, males: 630 g (22 oz) Weight, females: 800 g (28 oz) Wingspan: 102 - 127 cm (40 - 50 in)

Description

Barred owls are medium sized. Covered with fluffy gray brown feathers they have horizontal mottled bars around the neck and vertical stripes on the chest and belly. They have big brown eyes, round heads and small, yellow beaks.

Behaviour

Their call is often transcribed as who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all.

Threats

Owls are sometimes shot by people or killed by vehicles. Owls are threatened with habitat loss due to logging.