Birds – The Barred Owl

Barred Owls are medium sized brown owls that have horizontal barring on their chests and vertical barring on their bellies.  They have a round head with a whitish brown facial disk, and a dark brown trim.  They have brown eyes, and a beak covered with feathers and are smooth, light, and soundless while they are flying through the air during the night or in the late afternoon.  They are nocturnal animals found in the eastern half of the continent.  Barred Owls have learned to live near people in wooded areas and even in the city.  They hide in dense foliage during the daytime, but at night, they emerge and can be heard hooting during the summertime and in the fall.  In fact, the hoot sounds like a dog barking or a rooster crowing.  The bird will hoot to warn other owls that they have taken over the area, and if the other owl does not leave the area of the first owl’s territory, it will hoot even louder and more aggressively to scare the other away.  Physical contact is the last resort and most owls do not want to attack other owls because their sharp talons can hurt them both.

The Barred Owl hunts small animals like rats, squirrels and young rabbits.  It also hunts birds like woodpeckers, quails and jays as well as water creatures like frogs and sometimes fish.  Barred Owls are attracted to campfires, lights and places where they can forage for large insects.  Once the Barred Owl finds its prey, it usually eats on the spot; however, larger prey is carried away and torn apart before eating.  When the owl has eaten, it coughs up pellets of undigested hair and bones, which can be found near the trees where the owl rests during the daytime.

Owls have soft feathers and unlike the vulture that just soars in the air without flapping its wings much, the owl needs to constantly flap its wing in order to fly.

During the summer time, Barred Owls are quiet, because this is when they teach their young how to fly and if they made a noise, it may call attention to predators.  They generally nest in a hole left by broken branches, which they line with grass in.  If they can’t find a tree hole, they will use an old nest left by a crow, hawk or squirrel.  The male and female owl stay together in a 1 square mile territory all year, and will use the same nest every year.  The owl lays 2 to 3 eggs and after hatching, the baby owls’ eyes stay closed for a week and they cannot fly for about 40 days.   The parents will hunt for food to feed the baby owls, tearing it into small pieces for them.  When the young owls get older, they follow their parents when they hunt so they can learn.  close to an owl, or have one as a pet. Barren owls are great hunters and great animals to research and learn more about.