Barred Owl - Strix varia
Habitat	Prefers swamps, river bottoms and wooded lake edges. They will hunt in open areas if necessary.
Ecological Niche	A medum sized nocturnal predator of rodents. Barred owls will also eat birds, insects, and aquatic life such as frogs and crayfish. They will hunt during daylight hours if necessary. They are very closely related to the endangered spotted owl. Barred owls could become quickly endangered as well if unrestricted timber harvests are allowed along rivers, lakes, and swamps.
Life Cycle	They lay 2 to 4 eggs in February or March in tree hollows or crotches. On rare occasion they will use an old hawk nest. The young hatch after about 28 days of incubation. They are poorly developed and require much parental care. One of the longer lived birds, they can reach 25 years of age.
Behavior and physical adaptations	As with other owls, they have asymmetrical hearing for homing in on prey. Owls have exceptional night vision. Their feathers seem to appear ragged but their coloring is camouflage and their ragged shape silences movement so they can fly without making noise. The outer toe is reversible to allow greater gripping ability.