Barred Owl (Strix varia)

English and Scientific Name: Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Observation:  I wasn’t surprised at the look of the owl when I saw this at the wildlife refuge because the owls I had seen on television looked very similar to this owl.  When taking a picture of the owl I noticed it didn’t flinch.  It almost seemed as if the owl didn’t notice us being there.  That was intriguing to me because there were so many people around and it didn’t seem make noise or anything as we were snapping pictures and talking fairly loud in the group.    

Questions:

1.      Are the owls calm when in captivity?

2.      Do they call at night only?

3.      How does feeding occur?

Scientific Research:

Bolles, Frank. Barred Owls in Captivity,The Auk, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr., 1890), pp. 101-114. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4067509

Are the owls calm when in captivity?

In June 1888, Bolles witnessed a Barred Owl perched on a tree branch.  Even after throwing a stick at the Owl it didn’t move (Bolles, 1890).  I find that intriguing because if you throw a stick at most animals they exhibit some reaction but the Owl did not.

Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_Owl
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i3680id.html
http://www.owling.com/Barred.htm