Northern Spotted Owl Information

The northern spotted owl (strix occidentalis caurina), along with the Mexican spotted owl and the California spotted owl, is one of three types of spotted owls in North America. This owl is a raptor of the Pacific Northwest, requiring deep coniferous forests as habitat. The northern spotted owl's need for these old-growth forests has led to its decline, as logging efforts rob the species of places to live.

  1. Identification

    • A stout body, broad wings and a shortened tail are features of the northern spotted owl. The bird averages about 17.5 inches in length and weighs about 1.3 lbs., with a wingspan of 40 inches. The females are usually just a bit bigger than the males are. The head has a round appearance, with obvious ear tufts, and the feathers have barred markings around the face and eyes. The head is brownish, as is the upper body, with white speckles and spots interspersed in the color pattern. The undersides are also dark brown and possess the white spots that give the bird its name.

    Diet

    • The diet of the northern spotted owl includes such small mammals as red-back voles, brush rabbits, pocket gophers and the snowshoe hare. Mice and wood rats comprise a large portion of the bird's menu in many parts of its range. The northern flying squirrel often ends up as a meal for this owl, which can also kill and eat fish, bats, amphibians and other birds, including other owls.

    Hunting

    • The typical hunting method of the northern spotted owl involves using a perch high up to scan for movement below. The northern spotted owl hunts mostly at night, depending on acute hearing and vision. The bird will spot its prey and then silently glide down toward it, grabbing it with its talons and dispatching it with both its sharp claws and its beak.

    Effects

    • The northern owl will avoid areas where logging opens up a forest. The Cascades Raptor Center site reports that the greatest predator of this owl is the great horned owl, which can make quick work of it when the northern spotted owl ventures out into open areas. The northern spotted owl needs large tracts of unbroken forests as its range. As activities such as logging, mining, water development and the expansion of civilization encroach into its habitat, the northern owl's numbers drop. The owl has protection from state and federal governments because of it being on the Threatened List under the Endangered Species Act.

    Considerations

    • The spotted owl refrains from constructing a nest, typically employing old squirrel and raptor nests and using cavities in trees as a nesting site. The female lays from one to three whitish-grey eggs. The northern spotted owl young are completely helpless when born, covered with down and protected by the mother. Some northern spotted owl can live as long as 17 years, states the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, but the survival rate of the juvenile owls is not high.