Winking at You
The Florida barred owl, Strix varia, is a bird with a question on his mind, a question he asks with a bit of a drawl. "Who Cooks For You ... Who Cooks For ...
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The Florida barred owl, Strix varia, is a bird with a question on his mind, a question he asks with a bit of a drawl. "Who Cooks For You ... Who Cooks For You All."
If you're anywhere near a barred owl, you will hear that cry, assuming said owl is awake. Your chances of hearing a barred owl are much greater than catching a glimpse of one. Barred owls tend to hang in large forests, usually near bodies of water. Like most owls, they are nocturnal creatures, and that adds to the difficulty in spotting them.
Barred Owls are closely related to the spotted owl, and where their ranges overlap they hybridize.
Barred owls are stocky birds, 20 inches head to tail, and with a wingspan just short of four feet. They are somewhat smaller than their nemesis, the great horned owl, but much larger than the eastern screech-owl, the two other owls commonly found in South Florida. Their eyes are dark, unlike other owls, and somewhat sunken in appearance by large, gray facial "disks." Their undersides are vertial striations of browns and whites, the backs a mottled mix.
Other than their loud calls, barred owls move about the forest like ninjas, totally silent in flight. They will sit on a branch and scan the forest floor, mostly at night, waiting for a tasty meal to come their way, be it squirrel, rabbit, mouse, bird, reptile, amphibian or bug. They'll swoop down to take a fish or wade out if necessary.
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If you're anywhere near a barred owl, you will hear that cry, assuming said owl is awake. Your chances of hearing a barred owl are much greater than catching a glimpse of one. Barred owls tend to hang in large forests, usually near bodies of water. Like most owls, they are nocturnal creatures, and that adds to the difficulty in spotting them.
Barred Owls are closely related to the spotted owl, and where their ranges overlap they hybridize.
Barred owls are stocky birds, 20 inches head to tail, and with a wingspan just short of four feet. They are somewhat smaller than their nemesis, the great horned owl, but much larger than the eastern screech-owl, the two other owls commonly found in South Florida. Their eyes are dark, unlike other owls, and somewhat sunken in appearance by large, gray facial "disks." Their undersides are vertial striations of browns and whites, the backs a mottled mix.
Other than their loud calls, barred owls move about the forest like ninjas, totally silent in flight. They will sit on a branch and scan the forest floor, mostly at night, waiting for a tasty meal to come their way, be it squirrel, rabbit, mouse, bird, reptile, amphibian or bug. They'll swoop down to take a fish or wade out if necessary.
_DSC1618.JPG
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