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Whooo Cooks for You?
Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: 2018/10 - October
Owls are steeped in myth and legend. According to Virgil, the appearance of an owl foretold the death of Dido. Both the Sumerian goddess Lilith and Greek goddess Athena have been depicted with a retinue of owls.
In today’s fictional portrayals of talking animals, the owl is always the wise one. A collection of these mythologized birds is called a parliament (of owls).
The Barred Owl (Strix varia) sports plumage of mottled chestnut brown with white and brown bars or streaks on its head and body. Females are slightly larger than males, 21 inches in length with a wingspan of 42 inches. The Barred Owl call is a multisyllabic series of hoots, “Hoo hoot hoooooawwrr,” that has been transliterated “Who cooks for you?” by bird watchers.
Their habitat is mature forests and open woodlands across the Eastern United States and the Northwest U.S. into Western Canada. They frequent suburban neighborhoods with tall trees, where a leading cause of death is collision with cars.
Owls have keen vision and hearing by virtue of their large, front-facing eyes and asymmetrical ears. Their heads can pivot 270 degrees in silent survey of their surroundings. Their sharp talons are deadly; their beaks hawk-like. Their diet consists primarily of small mammals such as voles and mice, small or immature birds, insects and fish. Because they prey upon other birds, owls are unwelcome guests locally and are sometimes attacked by other birds.
Barred Owls nest in tree hollows or they take a nest built by Crows or Pileated Woodpeckers. Their nest will contain a clutch of two to four eggs that hatch in about four weeks. Fledging occurs in another four to five weeks. The fuzzy young nestlings emit a loud hissing sound that prompts the mother to bring food and startles unsuspecting children, especially around Halloween. Owls have been known to live for 24 years in the wild.
Owls are built for silent flight with unique feathers that lack the usual avian waterproofing so as to remain soft and flexible in the wind. Without water repellence, they get waterlogged easily and owls cannot fly when wet.
Happy owling and October birding from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. Listen at night for a series of falsetto hoots: “Who cooks for you?”
The Highlands Plateau Audubon Society, focused on enjoying and preserving birds and their habitats, is a Chapter of the National Audubon Society and a 501(c)(3) organization. For information on all our activities and membership, please visit highlandsaudubonsociety.org.
