Species: Strix occidentalis
Spotted Owl
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
A large, dark-eyed, round-headed, brown owl with whitish spotting on the head, back, and underparts (spotted breast, barred belly).
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Strix
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Buho Manchado - Chouette tachetée
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Strigiformes - Strigidae - Strix - "
Ecology and Life History
A large, dark-eyed, round-headed, brown owl with whitish spotting on the head, back, and underparts (spotted breast, barred belly).
Short General Description
Medium-sized, dark-eyed owl lacking ear tufts.
Migration
true - true - false - These owls tend to concentrate their foraging activities near the nest, particularly during the breeding season (Solis and Gutierrez 1990).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Small mammals predominate in diet; also eats various birds and sometimes large insects. Sometimes stores food for future use. See files for subspecies.
Reproduction Comments
Egg dates: mainly late March or early to mid-April in California, April in Arizona and New Mexico, early April in Oregon. Clutch size is 2-4, usually 2. Incubation, by female (fed by male), lasts about 30 days. Young leave nest at about 5 weeks, fly at about 6 weeks, stay near nest for several weeks, fed by adults until late summer, independent by early fall. First breeds at 2-3 years; may not breed every year; life-long pair bond.
Ecology Comments
Occurs at low densities (one pair per several sq km). Annual home range for a pair may be several thousand acres. Juveniles disperse usually less than 100 km but sometimes up to more than 150 km, often more than 25 km. See files for subspecies.
Length
45
Weight
637
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G3
Global Status Last Reviewed
2007-10-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-27
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S1&US.AZ=S3&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S1&US.NN=S2&US.NV=S1&US.NM=S2&US.OR=S3&US.TX=S1&US.UT=S2&US.WA=S1" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - RESIDENT: southwestern British Columbia (Dunbar et al. 1991) south through western Washington and western Oregon to southern California and northern Baja California (probably); in Rocky Mountain region from southern Utah and central Colorado south through the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico, extreme western Texas (Guadalupe Mountains), northern Sonora, Chihuahua, and Nuevo Leon to Jalisco, Michoacan, and Guanajato (AOU 1983).
Global Range Code
G
Global Range Description
200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)