Don’t Hoot So Close to Me
Barred owls have good reason to keep their distance from great horned owls. Barred owls don’t have too many predators, but a great horned owl is one predator fierce enough to take down a barred owl and make a meal out of him.
Bart has another reason to dislike great horned owls, but you’ll find out about that later.
When you look, you see.
The great horned owl is sometimes referred to as “the tiger of the woods”, “the tiger of the air”, or even “tiger owl.” You don’t get to have cool nicknames like that unless you’ve got the powerful hunting reputation to back it up. In the case of great horned owls, the nickname is well-earned and great horned owls are a potential predator of barred owls.
Don’t feel too sorry for the barred owls, because they are also excellent hunters and they have a similar kind of dominance over smaller owls. One example is the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Northern spotted owls can be found in small numbers in northern California, parts of Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, but they are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. As barred owls have expanded their home range across the United States, some scientists think that barred owls have contributed to the declining numbers of spotted owls. When barred owls move into spotted owl territory, the barred owls typically win the competition for nesting sites and food. This is often the natural order of things and as both Big Strig and Bart would tell you, owls gotta eat.
It's an owl eat owl world out there . . . sometimes.
You can find out what’s on the menu for barred owls, great horned owls, and other birds when you explore the resources below.
Kids, remember to ask a parent, teacher, or librarian for help whenever you are looking for books or using the Internet. I always try to make sure to share kid-friendly books and resources, but websites are changing all the time, so always check with an adult first.
- Learn a little more about barred owls on the Audubon Field Guide, which also explains a little more on the relationship between barred owls and great horned owls. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barred-owl
- Cornell University’s All About Birds site is always a good reference, and you can check out the barred owl page to discover even more about how barred owls behave, where you can find them, and how they don’t like to be neighbors with great horned owls.
- If you’d like to dive into the details for great horned owls, barred owls, spotted owls, and just about any other bird in North America, grab a copy of National Geographic’s Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition by Jonathan Alderfer. The book covers more than 1,000 species! Check with your librarian or ask your parents if they’d like to get a copy from your local bookstore. This link will help them find a local shop that carries the book: https://bookstorelink.com/9781426213731