Barred owl
Strix varia Barton, 1799
The barred owl (Strix varia) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 632 g to 801 g and live up to 18.2 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the barred owl
- Weight
- 632 g – 801 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.07 m – 1.11 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 18.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 24 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 28 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.5 – 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the barred owl?
Where does the barred owl live?
Not recorded
What is the barred owl?
The barred owl (Strix varia), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl, or more informally, hoot owl or eight hooter, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus Strix, which is also the origin of the family's name under Linnaean taxonomy. Barred owls are largely native to eastern North America, but have expanded their range to the West Coast of North America, where they are considered invasive. Mature forests are their preferred habitat, but they can also acclimate to various gradients of open woodlands. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, but this species is an opportunistic predator and is known to prey upon other small vertebrates such as birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as a variety of invertebrates.
Barred owls are brown to gray overall, with dark striping on the underside. They have typical nesting habits for a true owl, tending to raise a relatively small brood often in a tree hollow or snag (but sometimes also in other nesting sites) in forested areas. As a result of the barred owl's westward expansion, the species has begun to encroach on the range of the related and threatened spotted owl (S. occidentalis). Evidence shows the assorted threats posed by the invading barred species are only increasing. In response, biologists have recommended culling operations to mitigate their negative effect on the spotted owl species.
From the Wikipedia article “Barred owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barred_owl&oldid=1380654223), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the barred owl sound like?
Is the barred owl endangered?
The barred owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the barred owl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- genusStrix
- SpeciesStrix varia Barton, 1799
Synonyms Strix georgica, Strix varia georgica, Strix varia helveola, Strix varia varia, Ulula nebulosa
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- Black-eyed owlEnglish
- Bottom owlEnglish
- Crazy owlEnglish
- Hoot owlEnglish
- Laughing owlEnglish
- Old Folks' owlEnglish
- Rain owlEnglish
- Round-headed owlEnglish
- Swamp owlEnglish
- OpaAlabama
- بومة مخططةArabic
- Əlvan yapalaqcaAzerbaijani
- Северноамериканска улулицаBulgarian
- gamarús ratllatCatalan
- Gamarús nord-americàCatalan
- ᎤᎫᎫCherokee
- puštík proužkovanýCzech
- tylluan resogWelsh
- Båndet NatugleDanish
- StreifenkauzGerman
- Αμερικανικός ΧουχουριστήςGreek
- stria strigoEsperanto
- Búho BarradoSpanish
- Búho listadoSpanish
- Cárabo norteamericanoSpanish
- ameerika metskakkEstonian
- جغد راهراهPersian
- amerikanviirupöllöFinnish
- chouette rayéeFrench
- hibou grosse-têteFrench
- Ulchabhán ÚralachIrish
- comhachagScottish Gaelic
- prugasta sovaCroatian
- szalagos bagolyHungarian
- Allocco barratoItalian
- アメリカフクロウJapanese
- meksikinė pelėdaLithuanian
- Amerikas pūceLatvian
- HokperuceMuscogee
- Gestreepte BosuilDutch
- høvdingugleNorwegian
- Ochiipwamoshiish (Wenjida-gookookoo`oo)Ojibwa
- puszczyk kreskowanyPolish
- coruja-barradaPortuguese
- Пёстрая неясытьRussian
- Полосатая неясытьRussian
- sova pásikaváSlovak
- Prugasta američka sovaSerbian
- kråsugglaSwedish
- Çizgili BaykuşTurkish
- Смугаста соваUkrainian
- сова неоарктичнаUkrainian
- Cú lông sọcVietnamese
- 横斑林鴞Chinese
- 横斑林鸮Chinese
- 橫斑林鴞Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the barred owl
Other species in the same genus Strix.
Tawny owl
Strix aluco
Ural owl
Strix uralensis
Great grey owl
Strix nebulosa
Brown wood owl
Strix leptogrammica
Omani owl
Strix butleri
Spotted owl
Strix occidentalis
CompareBarred owl vs Tawny owlBarred owl vs Ural owlBarred owl vs Great grey owlBarred owl vs Brown wood owl
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the barred owl?
An adult barred owl weighs 632 g – 801 g and has a wingspan of 1.07 m – 1.11 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the barred owl endangered?
The barred owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the barred owl live?
The barred owl has a recorded lifespan of 18.2 years.
What kind of animal is the barred owl?
The barred owl (Strix varia) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Barred owl (Strix varia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/barred-owl
“Barred owl (Strix varia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/barred-owl.
@misc{barred_owl_2026,
title = {Barred owl (Strix varia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/barred-owl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}