Northern Spotted Owl

The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a North American owl. It is a member of the family Strigidae genus Strix occidentalis. It is a medium sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds with the female being the larger of the two. The wingspan is approximately forty two inches. Northern Spotted owls are dark brown with round or oval white spots on the head, neck, back and have a whitish underbody with brown bars along the abdomen and chest. Their flight feathers are dark brown in color and have light brown or white bars. The have dark eyes contrary to most owls which have light eyes. The facial disk has white feathers around the eyes running down each side of the beak. They can survive in the wild for ten years and up to fifteen to twenty in captivity.

Habitat

The Northern Spotted owl primarily inhabits old growth forests and scientists believe that they can marginally exist in younger forests. Their range is the Pacific coast from British Columbia to central California. They nest in cavities or on platforms in large trees and will use abandoned nests of other species. They mate for life and remain in the same geographical areas year after year. Their habitat is being affected by a growing population of Barred owls in regions that Northern Spotted owls traditionally inhabit. Their habitat is also being affected by deforestation of old forests and hybridization with Barred owls.

Diet

The Northern spotted owl is a nocturnal hunter. It is a carnivore and its diet consists of small rodents, wood rats, flying Squirrels, and they will eat reptiles, birds and insects. they can swallow their catch whole and will spit out hair and bones. Males and females both hunt except during nesting. They can grasp prey on the ground and in flight.

Reproduction

Male and females mate in February or March and the female lays two or three eggs in March or April. The eggs incubate thirty days. After hatching the young owls stay with the female eight to ten days and fledge in thirty four to thirty six days. The hunting and feeding is done by the male during this time. The young owls remain with the parents until late summer to early fall. The leave the nest and form their own winter feeding range. By spring the young owls territory will be from two to twenty four miles from the parents.

Status

The Northern Spotted Owl is under consideration for candidate for the endangered species list. There are approximately three to five thousand pairs remaining in the wild.

Links

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Northern Spotted owl on June 26, 1990 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

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