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Spotted Owl

Strix occidentalisOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)
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Family True Owl (Strigidae)_blue
Species Strix occidentalis
Length16 - 19 Inches
Wingspan40 Inches

Spotted Owl

Spotted Owl: Medium owl, white-spotted, brown upperparts, finely barred white underparts. Head lacks ear tufts. Eyes are brown. The wings are brown with white spots. A secretive bird, it inhabits dense old growth forests. An individual needs 3000 acres to survive due to scarcity of its food source.

● Song: "hoo-hoohoo-hoo", "hoot-hoot-hoot", "co-weeep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Spotted Owl: Feeds on flying squirrels, wood rats, gophers, small rabbits, mice, and voles. Forages from a perch, swooping down to capture prey on the ground, usually at night.

● Breeding & nesting: Spotted Owl: Lays one to four buff tinted, white eggs in stick nests of Northern Goshawks, clumps of mistletoe, large tree cavities, broken tops of large trees, large branches, or cavities in banks and rock faces. Female incubates for 28 to 32 days.

● Similar species: Spotted Owl: Barred Owl is larger and has a breast pattern of horizontal and vertical marks. Hybrid offspring show a mix of both parents’ traits.

Flight Pattern

Silent rapid wing strokes.
Spotted Owl Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Spotted Owl: Found from southwestern British Columbia south through the mountains of Washington, Oregon, and California, the western slopes of Sierra Nevada, and the southern Rockies; also occurs in Utah and central Colorado through Arizona's mountain ranges, New Mexico, extreme western Texas, and central Mexico. Preferred habitats include dense, dark, old growth or mixed mature and old growth coniferous forests.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationRare to uncommon, In danger of habitat loss
MigrationIrregular
Weight20.8 Ounces