Barred Owl
Common Name:
Barred Owl
Class: Aves
Order:
Strigiformes
Family:
Strigidae
Genus:
Strix
Species:
Strix
varia
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Photo: M. Noonan
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TAXONOMY
The Barred Owl is a
fairly common, large (21 inches, 53 cm), nocturnal owl.
Even though they are mostly nocturnal, they can be seen
moving during the daytime. Males and females look alike
with a pale face and dark eyes. They have a large round
head that lacks
ear tufts, dark
horizontal barring on their pale breast and dark
vertical barring on their belly.
HABITAT/DIET
Barred Owls are year-round residents
east of the Great Plains and have been recently found in the north
western parts of North America. East of the Great Plains, the range
extends from the Canadian border to southern Florida, where they are
very common. Barred Owls are primarily found in forested areas, dense
coniferous, mixed woodlands or wooded swamps. These forested areas
are often near water. Barred Owls are opportunistic
predators that seek their prey while flying in a low searching
flight. They eat mostly small mammals such as mice, squirrels, hares
and shrews. They will also eat small to medium sized birds,
crayfish, amphibians and reptiles.
BEHAVIOR
Barred Owls primarily hunt
prey at night but have been seen to hunt during
the day. Due to their nocturnal lifestyle they have adapted hearing
that allows them to better sense their prey. A ruff of
feathers is located just outside the ears which acts as
a reflector to channels sounds into the ears. Once a
sound is heard, the owl can pinpoint its location with 1.5
degrees in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Owls
are silent hunters because of
the structural modification of the first primary feather
on each wing. The edge of the feather is serrated,
instead of being smooth, which disrupts the flow of air
over the wing in flight. This disrupts the vortex heard
when air flows over a smooth surface.
During courtship displays, the male
and the female will produce loud vocals while perched on a branch.
They will then nod, bow with half-spread wings and then wobble while
they twist their head side-to-side. Barred Owls are believed to have
a monogamous mating system and produce one brood per year. They usually use
an abandoned squirrel and hawk nests and will scrape out remnant
lining to make a hollow cavity. Their nests are usually perennial if
they have had success their in previous breeding seasons and they
are territorial all year. The female
lays 2-3 white eggs and will incubating them for the
28-33 day period. The owlets are semi-altricial
which means they are immobile, downy, blind and need to be fed. The
female is the primary caregiver to her young who can fly 42 days
after hatching. Parental care can extend up to 4 months after the
young have hatched. Young that are raised in small cavity nests tend
to leave earlier than young raised in larger cavities.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Owls are difficult to find
because they are mainly nocturnal but this species of owl is sometimes
seen to be active during the day and is more commonly seen by
birders then other owl species. These owls are permanent residents of WNY and some areas where Barred Owls have been seen
are
Allegany State Park,
Oak Orchard State Park,
Iroquois NWR,
Sprague Brook Park as well as well as the county forest on
Genesee Road.

Photo: M. Noonan
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