{"id":3100,"date":"2019-11-21T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/?p=3100"},"modified":"2019-12-02T18:34:13","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T18:34:13","slug":"barred-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2019\/11\/21\/barred-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"One Bad Bird: Barred Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Barred Owl (Strix varia<\/em>) is a bird of prey in the Order Strigiformes and the Family Strigidae. This bird of prey is known by many names, and is also called the Hoot Owl or Eight Hooter, and is sometimes mistakenly called the Bard Owl (Lewis, 2017<\/a>). First spotted on Vancouver Island in the 1960\u2019s, Barred Owls are now a frequent sight among our forests (Nanaimo News<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An adult Barred Owl. Photo by Ashley Hockenberry<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Description and Identification<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Barred Owl has great camouflage, making it a difficult bird to spot by prey and birders alike. Photo by Dave Ellis<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Barred Owls are large owls with a stocky body and round head. Barred Owls lack ear tufts and have large, dark eyes peering out of a round, grey face. As the name suggests, Barred Owls are characterized by horizontal brown and white bars on the wings, tail, and back, with vertical bars on the chest and underside (Cornell University: All About Birds<\/a>). Their overall mottled appearance allows them to easily blend in with surrounding tree trunks and branches. 
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Commonly heard call of the Barred Owl (Audio from Cornell University: All About Birds<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Barred Owls can also be identified by their unique calls. Barred owls are highly vocal and have a variety of vocalizations, from yelps and barks to their deep, signature call “hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ooo<\/em>“. This is often phrased as “Who cooks for-you? Who cooks for-yooooou?” and can be heard in many forested areas, primarily after dusk (Lewis, 2017<\/a>). Calls are often heard in bouts of eight, hence the nickname Eight Hooter. It is difficult to distinguish between the sexes of Barred Owls, but a seasoned birder may be able to distinguish a male\u2019s deeper call from that of a female (Lewis, 2017<\/a>). Although Barred Owls are most active at night, they are known to call throughout the day as well (Audubon<\/a>). 
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