Species

Barred owl

Strix varia

The dark-eyed owl of Georgia's swamps and woods, famous for its question: 'Who cooks for you?'

Photo Mdf (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

Communication

At a glance

Size: About 43 to 50 cm long; wingspan about 1 to 1.1 m
Weight: About 470 to 1,050 g
Habitat: Swamps, river bottoms, mature woods and wooded suburbs
Diet: Mice, rats, squirrels, frogs, crayfish, fish and small birds
In Georgia: Common resident statewide
Voice: "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all"; wild caterwauling duets
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Large, round-headed owl with no ear tufts; dark brown eyes; barred across the chest and streaked down the belly
Told apart from: Great horned owl, which has ear tufts and yellow eyes
Told apart from: Barn owl, which is pale with a heart-shaped face
Where to look: Swamps and wooded neighbourhoods; often calls by day

Behaviour

Barred owls hunt at night and sometimes by day in dark woods. Pairs call to each other in loud, monkey-like duets.

Why they matter

Barred owls are key predators of rodents and crayfish in wet woods. Their calls are among the most familiar night sounds in Georgia, and they live in wooded suburbs as well as deep swamps.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A tree cavity, broken treetop or old hawk nest
Eggs — Usually two or three
Incubation — About 28 to 33 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Leaving the nest — At about four to five weeks, climbing branches before they fly
Flight — At about ten weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

Owlets out of the nest are usually being cared for.
Barred owls are often hit by cars when hunting along roads.
Rodent poisons kill owls.

Misconceptions

Owls calling during the day are sick. Barred owls often call by day.
A downy owlet on a low branch has fallen out. It is branching, as young owls do, and its parents are nearby.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Pairs calling	Courtship	Nesting	Chicks	Owlets leaving the nest	Young fed by parents	Young learning to hunt	Young independent	Present	Present	Present	Pairs calling

Where it lives

Recorded in 55 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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