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Snowy Owl

Rare and irregular visitors to the Keystone State, snowy owls show up mainly from November to January. If food is scarce on the arctic tundra, large numbers may migrate south. Population crashes of lemmings and hares--and the accompanying owl migrations--usually occur at 4- or 5-year intervals. Immatures, which are darker in color, go farther south than the adults.

Plumage of the snowy owl is white barred with grayish-brown; its feet and legs are heavily feathered. Full, soft feathering keeps the bird warm during periods of inactivity between winter hunting forays.

The snowy owl is as large as the great horned owl, with a 24-inch body length, 60-inch wingspan and body weight up to five pounds. It is a bird of open fields--not woodlands--which resemble its tundra home. It often perches on a fencepost to look for mice, ground squirrels, wood rats, rabbits and hares. The snowy owl is crepuscular (most active in twilight) but is forced to hunt in the day during the long arctic summer, when darkness is almost non-existent. In Pennsylvania, the snowy owl continues these habits and often hunts during the day. It does not call south of its arctic breeding grounds.

Barred Owl

The barred owl is a large bird of the deep woods. It has a rounded head, no horns and brown eyes (it's the only brown-eyed Pennsylvania owl except the barn owl; all others have yellow eyes). The barred owl ranges over the eastern United States, its distribution often coinciding with that of the red-shouldered hawk.

A barred owl weighs up to two pounds, with a 44-inch wingspan and body length up to 20 inches. It has gray-brown plumage with white spots on the back; whitish or grayish underparts are barred with buff or deep brown, the barring crosswise on the breast and lengthwise on the belly.

The barred is the most vocal of our owls. Its hoots are more emphatic than those of the great horned owl's, but not as deep or booming. The barred owl's call is eight accented hoots, in two groups of four hoots: hoohoo-hoohoo . .. hoo-hoo-hoohooaw (described as "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?"). It usually calls early in the night, at dawn, and occasionally on cloudy days.

Barred owls almost always nest in hollow trees, laying 24 eggs that hatch in 28-33 days. Pairs may show strong attachment to the same nest area, returning year after year.

Long-Eared Owl

The long-eared is one of the most efficient mouse-catchers of the Pennsylvania owls. This slender, crow-size owl has long wings which make it appear larger in flight than it actually is; a long-eared has a 16-inch body length, a 40-inch wingspan and weighs about 11 ounces. This uncommon Pennsylvania resident gets its name from two prominent ear tufts.

While it looks a bit like a small version of the great horned owl, the long-eared can be told from its larger relative by a streaked belly--rather than barred--and closer-set ears. Like the great horned, the long-eared has a rusty face and grayish-brown plumage. The long-eared owl's call is a low, moaning, dove-like hoo, hoo, hoo repeated every three seconds or so.

Long-eared owls usually nest in dense conifers, frequently in old crow or hawk nests. Females lay 3-8 eggs (nomlally 4-5). Only the female incubates; incubation period is around 25 days, and the oldest owlet may be 8-10 days old when the last egg hatches.

Long-eared owls feed mainly on mice and shrews, occasionally taking birds, insects and frogs. They are probably the most noctumal of our state's owls. Prime habitat is dense or open coniferous and deciduous forests.

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