Spotted Owl

Strix occidentalis

Order STRIGIFORMES - Family STRIGIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A denizen of mature coniferous forests, the Spotted Owl has been at the center of debates between forces for and against logging in the Pacific Northwest. Because of its role as the indicator species for old-growth forest, it has become one of the best-studied owls in the world.

Cool Facts

• Three subspecies of Spotted Owl are recognized. The Northern Spotted Owl lives from northern California to British Columbia, and is the darkest brown with the smallest white spots. The California Spotted Owl lives only in California, is lighter brown and has larger spots. The Mexican Spotted Owl is the smallest and lightest race with the largest white spots. It lives from Utah and Colorado southward into southern Mexico.

• The most important food items for the Spotted Owl are flying squirrels and woodrats. In areas where woodrats make up the bulk of the diet, the owl has a smaller home range. The Spotted Owl also eats bats and other owls.

• An individual Spotted Owl may not breed every year. Some do not breed for periods of five to six years. Although survival of juvenile owls is low, adult survival is high, and a Spotted Owl may live to be 17 years old.

Description

• Size: 47-48 cm (19-19 in)
• Wingspan: 101 cm (40 in)
• Weight: 500-700 g (17.65-24.71 ounces)

• Large owl.
• Round head with no ear tufts.
• Dark eyes.

• Chocolate-brown back, head, neck, and underparts with round or irregular white spotting.
• Wings and tail dark brown, barred with light brown and white.
• Bill dull yellowish green.
• Legs and feet fully feathered.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, female larger.

Immature

Like adults.

Similar Species

• Barred Owl has streaks, not spots, on chest below ruff, and bars, not spots, on head and back.

Sound

Call a series of four spaced notes with the two middle ones closest together, "hup, hoo-hoo, hooo."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from southern British Columbia southward to southern California. Patchily distributed in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Also in central Mexico.

Habitat

• In northern part of range, lives in old-growth coniferous forests.
• Uses other forest types and rocky canyons in other parts of range, but prefers mature forests.

Food

Small and medium-sized mammals, especially rodents.

Behavior

Foraging

Hunts at night.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nests in tree cavities, broken-topped trees, and platforms, such as old raptor or squirrel nests. Does not build own nest.

Egg Description

White to pearl gray.

Clutch Size

1-3 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, eyes closed, covered in white down.

Conservation Status

Because of its preference for old-growth forests, it is heavily affected by clear-cut logging. The northern form is considered Endangered in Canada and Threatened in the United States. The California form is a species of special concern in California, and the Mexican form is considered as Threatened in the United States and Mexico. Listed on the Audubon Watchlist.

Other Names

Chouette tachetée (French)
Tecolote moteado (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Gutiérrez, R. J., A. B. Franklin, and W. S. Lahaye. 1995. Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 179 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.