Owls

3 species

All groups

Barred Owl

Barred Owl
Strix varia

LargeUncommon but increasing

A large, round-headed owl with dark eyes, and one that will sit in the open and let
you look at it.

Year-round Mature trees with dense cover; often roosting low and in plain sight Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus

LargePresent year-round, heard far more often than seen

The owl everybody can already imitate without knowing they can. Large, heavy, and
almost always above you rather than in front of you.

Year-round — calling from late autumn, nesting in midwinter Big cottonwoods and conifers along the water; hunts over open ground Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide
Western Screech-Owl

Western Screech-Owl
Megascops kennicottii

MediumUncommon

A tiny owl the size of a pint glass, the color of bark, that spends the day pressed
into a tree cavity doing an impression of the tree.

Year-round Cavities in older deciduous trees; wooded edges Its call is recorded in the field guide
Open the field guide