Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Barred Owl (Strix varia), a nocturnal dweller of mature forests in the United States and Canada, has deep, dark eyes and rich, chocolate-brown and cream-colored plumage. This large bird can easily evade detection in the daytime, as it blends in with the tree bark, flies on silent wings, and is quite sedentary. But there’s no mistaking its haunting, hooting song.
Infamous and instantly recognizable, the song of the Barred Owl is a wild and unignorable declaration of ownership to any creature of the swamps, woodlands, and suburbs they call home. If there’s a Barred Owl in your neighborhood, you know about it. Perhaps even more ear-catching is the caterwauling duet performed by mated pairs. Complex, highly variable, and spine-tingling, these coordinated vocal displays may give the inexperienced naturalist cause to wonder if a troupe of monkeys might have moved in nearby.
Very much an adaptable generalist, the Barred Owl occurs in a variety of woodland habitats across a wide and expanding range. Formerly confined to eastern North America, the Barred Owl’s ability to colonize the woodlands that sprang up across the Great Plains in the wake of fire suppression allowed this species to spread westward through the 1800s. By the mid-1900s, they had reached the Pacific Northwest. where they encountered the closely related but less aggressive Spotted Owl. Since then Barred Owls have outcompeted Spotted Owls for territories, and Spotted Owl populations have declined across their range.
Also known as: Kashakatasht (Innu-aimun), Hoot Owl, Tecolote Listado (Spanish)
Learn more at abcbirds.org/birds/barred-owl
The Barred Owl (Strix varia), a nocturnal dweller of mature forests in the United States and Canada, has deep, dark eyes and rich, chocolate-brown and cream-colored plumage. This large bird can easily evade detection in the daytime, as it blends in with the tree bark, flies on silent wings, and is quite sedentary. But there’s no mistaking its haunting, hooting song.
Infamous and instantly recognizable, the song of the Barred Owl is a wild and unignorable declaration of ownership to any creature of the swamps, woodlands, and suburbs they call home. If there’s a Barred Owl in your neighborhood, you know about it. Perhaps even more ear-catching is the caterwauling duet performed by mated pairs. Complex, highly variable, and spine-tingling, these coordinated vocal displays may give the inexperienced naturalist cause to wonder if a troupe of monkeys might have moved in nearby.
Very much an adaptable generalist, the Barred Owl occurs in a variety of woodland habitats across a wide and expanding range. Formerly confined to eastern North America, the Barred Owl’s ability to colonize the woodlands that sprang up across the Great Plains in the wake of fire suppression allowed this species to spread westward through the 1800s. By the mid-1900s, they had reached the Pacific Northwest. where they encountered the closely related but less aggressive Spotted Owl. Since then Barred Owls have outcompeted Spotted Owls for territories, and Spotted Owl populations have declined across their range.
Also known as: Kashakatasht (Innu-aimun), Hoot Owl, Tecolote Listado (Spanish)
Learn more at abcbirds.org/birds/barred-owl
