Barred Owl

Barred Owl is a common, medium-sized, typical owl that is easily identified by its call. It is not migratory. If suitable prey is present it is a year-round resident. In the wild they live about 10 years. In captivity they have been known to live up to 23 years.

Adults are 17″ to 24″ long, weigh 17 oz. to 37 oz., and have a 38″ to 50″ wingspan. Females are larger than males.

The head is round. There are no ear tufts. The facial disk is whitish-brown with a prominent, dark brown outer ring and 4 or 5 fainter, narrower, vaguely-defined, brown rings around each eye. The beak is yellow and is mostly covered by feathers. The eyes are dark brown.

Feathers on the wings, back, and back of head are dark grayish-brown with buffy-white subterminal bars and edges. The tail is long and dark brown with 6 or 7 well-defined, pale brown bars. Feathers on the neck, chest, and belly are buffy-white with dark brown streaking. The neck and upper chest are horizontally streaked, the lower chest and belly are vertically streaked. There is a sharp break where the horizontal streaking meets the vertical streaking. Male and female plumage is identical.

17″ to 24″ in length

42″ to 48″ wingspan

An eight hoot call that sounds like “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all.”

This is the only owl in Minnesota with dark brown eyes. All other owls in the state have yellow eyes.

Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) is a much larger bird, up to 33″ long. The eyes are yellow. The rings of the facial disk are more well-defined. The “chin” has a solid black patch. The neck and upper chest do not have horizontal barring.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) has prominent, tall ear tufts and yellow eyes.

Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) has yellow eyes. The neck, chest, and belly have fine, horizontal barring.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) has small ear tufts and yellow eyes. The neck and upper chest do not have horizontal barring.

Mature deciduous and mixed forests near water source; wooded swamps.

The Barred Owl is monogamous and mates for life. It nests in a cavity of an old deciduous tree, often one created by a Pileated Woodpecker, or in an abandoned nest of a squirrel, Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, or American Crow. Breeding season is from March to August. The female lays usually 2 or 3, but as few as 1 or as many as 5 white, spotless, almost perfectly round eggs. The eggs hatch in 28 to 33 days. The young leave the nest in 35 to 40 days but remain dependent on their parents for food up to 4 more months.

Mostly small mammals, including mice, voles, shrews, chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits; also amphibians, reptiles, smaller birds, fish, crayfish, and invertebrates.

Uncommon year-round resident

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Barred Owl
Allen Chartier

Barred Owl
JMC Nature Photos

Barred Owl making eye contact with me.
Sep 5, 2023

Barred Owl, Strix Varia
Gregory G. Martz

Barred Owl ( Strix varia ) in snowfall... 2/10/2013...HD
pefawa