By: Craig Logan
Photographer: Matthew D. Sumner

Amateur naturalist Benjamin Smith Barton published the first description of a Barred Owl in 1799. In Latin, “varia” is a form of the word “varius”, which means diverse. The Barred Owl has also been known as Northern Barred Owl, Swamp Owl, Striped Owl, Hoot Owl, and Round-headed Owl, The Hooting Cat of the North, Wood Owl, and Rain Owl. It is also mistakenly known as a Bard Owl.

Description:
The Barred Owl is a medium-sized gray-brown Owl streaked with white horizontal barring on the chest and vertical barring on the belly. They are round-headed with a whitish/brown facial disk with dark brown trim. The eyes are brown, and the beak is yellow and almost covered by feathers. They have a long tail. There is no difference in plumage between males and the larger females.

Size:
Length
40-63 cm (16-25 inches)
Wingspan 96-125 cm (38-50 inches)

Weight:
500-1050 grams (17.5-37 oz) (average male 617g, average female 779g)

Habits:
A nocturnal bird, which hides in dense foliage during the day, usually high up. May also roost on a branch close to a broad tree-trunk, or in a natural tree hole. May be very aggressive when defending a nest.

Voice:
The Barred Owl is a highly vocal Owl giving a loud and resounding "hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ooo" which is often phrased as "Who, cooks, for-you? Who, cooks, for-you, all?" - The last syllable drops off noticeably. Like other Owl species, they will call in the daytime as well as at night. The calls are often heard in a series of eight, and then it stops to listen for a reply from other Owls. Some of the other calls this owl makes are a "hoo-hoo, hoo-WAAAHH" and "WAAAHHH" used in their courtship. Mating pairs will also duet during courtship, but the male's voice is deeper and more melodious. Many other vocalizations are made which range from a short yelp or bark to a frenzied and raucous monkey-like squall.

Hunting Food:
being a very opportunistic hunter, a Barred Owl can sometimes be seen hunting before dark. This typically happens in the nesting season or on dark and cloudy days. A Barred Owl will use a perch, from where it dives upon its prey, meadow voles being its main prey, followed by shrews and deer mice. Other prey items include mammals such as rats, squirrels, young rabbits, bats, moles, opossums, mink, and weasels. Some birds occasionally are taken; these include woodpeckers, grouse, quail, jays, blackbirds, and pigeons. Birds are taken as they settle into nocturnal roosts, because they cannot catch birds on the wing. They will also swoop down to the water's edge to catch frogs, other amphibians, snakes and other reptiles and occasionally fish and crayfish. Barred Owls are attracted to campfires and lights where they forage for large insects, such as scorpions, beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. Small prey is usually devoured on the spot, where as larger prey is carried to a feeding perch and torn apart before eating.

Breeding:
Barred Owls call year-round, but courtship activities begin in February, with breeding occurring between March and August. As the nesting season approaches, males chase after females giving a variety of hooting and screeching calls, then the males make a display by swaying back and forth, and raising their wings, while sidling along a branch. Courtship feeding and mutual preening also occur. Barred Owls nest in cavities in trees and will also use abandoned Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Squirrel, or Crow nests. Eggs number 2-4 and are white, and almost perfectly round, with a slightly rough texture. They are likely laid every 2 to 3 days and incubation begins with the first egg laid. Incubation period is 28-33 days. The Male brings food to the female while she is on the nest. The Barred Owl is single-brooded, meaning they will only raise one brood of eggs a year, but has a long breeding season, which allows for laying of replacement clutches if the first clutch or brood is lost. When the young leave the nest, at about 4 weeks, they are not able to fly, but crawl out of the nest using their beak and talons to sit on branches, these Owls are called branchers. They fledge at 35 to 40 days. Once they lose their down, there is no difference between adult and juvenile plumage.
Parents care for the young for at least 4 months, much longer than most other Owls. Young tend to disperse very short distances, usually less than 10 kilometers (6 miles), before settling. Pairs mate for life and territories and nest sites are maintained for many years.

Mortality:
Barred Owls have been known to live up to 23 years in captivity and 10 years in the wild. Most deaths are likely to be related to man (shootings, road kills etc). Great Horned Owls are their only natural enemy.

Habitat:
Barred Owls prefer deep moist forests, wooded swamps, and woodlands near waterways. Territories are 85-365 hectares (213-903 acres).

Distribution:
The Barred Owl is widespread in North America, they occur across most of the eastern half of the continent from Florida northward to southern Canada; they are also spreading westward in the north of their range. Their spread westward is causing concern as they may compete with the endangered Spotted Owl Strix occidentalis. Northern populations may be partially migratory depending on food resources.

Distribution of Strix varia