How to Identify a Barred Owl (Strix varia)

• Eye color: Dark (brown/black) eyes on a large, round head
• Head pattern: No 'ear' tufts, unlike Great Horned Owl
• Body pattern: Marked with horizontal bars on the chest and vertical stripes on the belly
• Size: Length 17-20 in (43-51 cm); wingspan 3 ft 3 in-3 ft 7 in (1.0-1.1 m); weight 16-37 oz (470 g-1.05 kg)
• Behavior clue: A permanent resident throughout its range, though individuals may wander from nesting habitat in winter

Barred Owl has dark eyes and no ear tufts, with vertical belly streaking below a horizontally barred chest, versus Great Horned Owl's conspicuous ear tufts and horizontally barred belly throughout (Great Horned Owl eye color not confirmed in fetched sources) The Great Horned Owl page lists its own marks.

Woodlands, wooded river bottoms, and wooded swamps; favors dense, thick woods with only scattered clearings, especially in low-lying and swampy areas Found across California, Eastern Canada, Florida, the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Texas, and Western Canada; a permanent resident throughout its range

A permanent resident throughout its range, though individuals may wander from nesting habitat in winter

Raptors are usually far away and against the sky, so expose for the bird, not the sky, and take several frames as it turns: the tail shape, wing shape and underwing pattern show best in flight. For a perched bird, get the head and chest in one frame. Size is hard to judge alone; compare with a nearby crow, gull or fence post. The app names the likely species; confirm with the marks above.