Barred Owl
Strix varia
Also known as: Black-Eyed Owl, Bottom Owl, Crazy Owl, Hoot Owl, Laughing Owl
About This Species
A large, dark-eyed owl of mature forest near swamps, rivers or wooded wetlands, best detected by its distinctive, rhythmic "who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" call, often given at dusk or through the night but sometimes by day too. It's non-migratory and holds the same territory year-round, so listening at dawn or dusk in suitable wooded habitat is more productive than daytime searching alone.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep a respectful distance and avoid using playback repeatedly to call one in, since frequent tape-luring can pull owls away from hunting or nesting and disturbs pair behaviour.
- It is protected under general migratory bird law across its North American range — the Migratory Bird Treaty Act covers owls even though they don't migrate — so never approach a nest cavity or handle a bird, even one that appears unusually tame.
LCAvesStrigiformesStrigidae
Seasonal Activity
1,255,059 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.