With oversized eyes that look directly ahead, owls have a familiar, relatable appearance, and their characteristics are often associated with wisdom or, sometimes, mystery. Regardless, owls capture the imagination. Here are a few of our favorite (mostly) night fliers.
Most Diverse Eater
BARRED
The classic whoo cooks for you, whoo cooks for you all is the sound you'll hear most often from barred owls, but they make any number of hoots, shrieks, cackles and caterwauls too. Large nest boxes can accommodate them, but they'll also nest in natural cavities. Occasionally these birds take over a stick nest from another raptor.
The barred owl is one species whose distribution expanded throughout the 20th century. The species was predominantly found in the East, especially in southeastern swamps and woods. Over the last 100 years, barred owls have pushed west across Canada and then south into the Pacific Northwest. This is good news for barred owls but problematic for the closely related, and more passive, spotted owl. But barred owls aren't always the dominant bird-great horned owls can be a major predator on barred owls, where their ranges overlap.
As expected for a species with such a widespread distribution, barred owls' diets vary based on their habitat. Their feasts can include anything from crayfish, fish and frogs to small mammals and birds.
Until recently, an isolated population of barred owls in Mexico was considered a subspecies, but in 2021 researchers determined these birds were a separate species now known as cinereous owls.
Most Elusive
GREAT GRAY
This story is from the October/November 2023 edition of Birds & Blooms.
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This story is from the October/November 2023 edition of Birds & Blooms.
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