Barred Owl (Strix varia)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Owls

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Color Photograph: © Corel Corp.

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 20 inches. A large, nocturnal owl. Head without ear-like tufts of feathers. Eyes dark, not yellow and face disks gray, but not contrasting with the coloration of the head. Back with irregular lines of white spots. Underside with breast striped with dark brown horizontally. Belly and flanks dull white, striped vertically with brown.

Similar Species:  Among the eastern species of owls, only the Great Gray Owl might be confused with Barred Owl. The Great Gray Owl is a larger species. The eye disks have concentric gray rings. The striping on the neck and the rest of the underside is all vertical, not horizontal on the neck. The closest relative of the Barred Owl is the rare western species, the Northern Spotted Owl. Both the neck and the rest of the underside is horizontally striped.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Barred Owls is resident throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its range extends in a band through the Prairie Provinces, and southward into the Pacific Northwest.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat: The Barred Owl is found in wet woods and swampy forests.

Food: Largely small mammls, but also birds.

Behavior:  The voice is a loud series of hoots as well as a collection of screams.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 to 4 white eggs. The eggs are laid in a tree cavity.