Barred owl's silent gaze speaks volumes

The barred owl's eyes are locked in their sockets. The bird must turn its head to see left or right.  Credit: Mike Parr / American Bird Conservancy 

On the Wing / By Michael Burke

Like a camouflaged soldier at attention, the big bird stood unmoving and nearly unseen in the bare oak. I took a step closer, and its head rotated slightly. I found myself looking into a pair of penetrating dark eyes. It hesitated a moment, then noiselessly alit. A small stream had already separated us, but that natural barrier wasn't enough. The bird needed to put a safer distance between us.

Largely creatures of the night, owls are usually quiet and still during daylight. With cryptic colors of brown, white and black, they easily blend into the mottled patterns of bark and branches. No sound, no movement, protective coloration: These birds are tough to spot.

The barred owl (Strix varia) that perceived me as a threat was no exception. Barred owls are relatively large, standing upright at 18 inches. They have the bulky build we associate with typical owls and weigh 1.5 pounds. The rounded wings stretch to 40 inches. A dozen shades of brown are irregularly broken by white lines, patches, streaks and scallops. The visual result is a bird that's hard to see in spite of its impressive dimensions.

An owl's eyes are compelling. Like cats, dogs, humans and other predators, barred owls have eyes in the front of their heads, not along the side like most songbirds. Furthermore…  http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=4020

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Mike Burke is an amateur naturalist who lives in Cheverly, MD. Read more articles by this author.

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