Barred Owl
Bodhi & Loki
Loki the smaller (probably male) bird, came here in March 1997 from a zoo in Spokane that closed. He suffered multiple fractures in his left wing from a collision with a car in 1983 (estimated hatch year: 1981).
Bodhi When he was only about three weeks old, this bird was blown from his nest in a storm down in Texas and suffered a fractured radius and ulna in his right wing. The wing was not properly immobilized, nor was he fed an adequate diet by his finders. By the time he was turned over to a licensed rehabilitator two weeks later, the wing had already healed in poor alignment. He was sent to us as an education bird in May 2007 when he was about 10 weeks old.
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
This is a large woodland owl
with plumage designed to provide good camouflage in
forested settings. The Barred Owl is stocky in shape, with a short tail and
broad wings; the sexes look alike, but the female is generally larger. The
head is rounded, and lacks eartufts like those of the larger Great Horned
Owl; a large facial disc of pale brownish-gray, concentrically barred
feathers surrounds dark brown eyes. The upperparts are broadly and regularly
barred a pale buff and deep brown, the breast is barred brown and buff, and
the belly is streaked lengthwise with brown - an overall color and pattern
that helps this owl blend into the dappled filtering of sunlight through
trees. This species resembles its close relative, the Northern Spotted Owl,
but differs in several ways: the Barred Owl is lighter in color, is larger,
has a paler face, has a brighter, buffy-yellow bill, and has a streaked
belly. Fledglings of the two species both have a banded upperwing pattern
and look almost alike, but Barred Owl fledglings have broader wingbands.
Barred Owl Notes
Size - Length: 21" ave. • Wing Span: ave. 42" ave. • Weight: 1.6 lb. ave.
Range - From southeast Alaska through north central Canada, down into
central Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in the western US; in the eastern US,
from the eastern Great Plains to the east coast. The northern-most
populations are semi-migratory. The northwest part of this owl's range is
rapidly expanding, overlapping the range of the Northern Spotted Owl in
places - in areas where both species are found, there have been incidences
of hybridizing.
Status - State and federally protected.
Habitat - Found in dense coniferous forests or mixed
deciduous-evergreen woodlands, from moist riverbottoms and wooded swamps to
upland woods.
Diet - The Barred Owl is a semi-nocturnal to nocturnal hunter. Small
mammals, especially rodents, form most of the diet. This owl is also an
opportunistic hunter who will take whatever is available, and birds, fish,
reptiles, amphibians, or insects will make an acceptable meal. Perch hunting
is a favorite technique -- the owl locates prey by sound or sight from a
high perch, and swoops down from above to make the kill. The Barred Owl and
the Northern Spotted Owl hunt in the same way and seek the same prey, which
causes problems where the ranges of these two owls overlap. The Barred Owl
has the advantage of being larger, and tends to win any competition for food
between these two species.
Call - A very distinctive, nine-note, barking call of
hoohooho-ho, hoohooho-hoooooaw, ending on a rolling note. Similar to the call
of the Northern Spotted Owl, but longer and lower in pitch. Other, shorter
vocalizations are also made.
Nesting - Uses tree cavities, or abandoned nests of other species.
Most Common Problems - Collisions with vehicles is a common cause of
injury, and pesticide poisoning is a hazard in some areas. Destruction of
woodland habitat from development or logging is a major problem for all
woodland owls.
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