Description

Distinguishing Features - Length: approx. 25 cm. Colouration: the upper parts are grey-brown with white spots on the forehead, crown and the area around the facial disk. Larger spots are on the hindneck and wings, and the tail is barred. A distinctive brown bar separates the head from the breast. The breast is white with streaks and blotches of brown.

Habitat

Circumpolar; northern Europe, Russia, Alaska, and Canada; infrequent in northeast Minnesota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington. As its name indicates this owl is found in northern coniferous and mixed hardwood forests. It is most common in spruce or pine woods; in southern range can be found in stands of aspen.

Diet

Primarily voles and other small nocturnal rodents. Boreal Owl population densities and migrations can be tied to rodent populations.

Notes

A nocturnal hunter, it usually sits motionless in the branches of trees and bushes during the day.

Return to Top of Page