From Opus

Photo by David Roach
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida

Strix varia

[edit] Identification

• 44 cm.
• Adult shows pale face, dark rings around the eyes, yellow beak, brown eyes, no ear tufts, upper parts mottled grey-brown, light underparts with dark markings which are mainly vertical, legs and feet covered in feathers up to the talons.
• Fledglings are downy like in most owls; older fledglings shows horizontal markings on breast, opposite of what is shown in adults.

[edit] Distribution

Resident from Minnesota south to eastern Texas and east to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia south to Florida. Also in central Canada west to British Columbia and in northern Washington and Idaho. In Mexico south to Oaxaca and Veracruz.

Fledgling
Photo by GaryT
Hills Creek State Park, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, May 2007

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

Polytypic. Consists of four subspecies:

• S. v. varia:

• South-eastern Alaska to south-eastern Canada and east-central US

• S. v. georgica:

• South-eastern US (Arkansas to eastern Texas, the Gulf Coast and southern Florida)

• S. v. helveola:

• South-central Texas

• S. v. sartorii:

• Mountains of northern Mexico (Durango) to Veracruz and Oaxaca

[edit] Habitat

Forests or suburban areas.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

They nest in a tree cavity; 2 to 4 eggs are laid and incubated by the female for about 4 weeks. The young fledge after a further four to five weeks.

[edit] Diet

Photo by DougLaslj
Gibson Township, Michigan, July 2008

The diet includes mainly mice, but also rabbits, chipmunks, foxes, opossums, birds such as grouse and doves.

[edit] Vocalisation

A series of deep hoots that sound very similar to Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you, all?
Young birds give a loud shrieking

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
3. Howell & Webb, 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198540124

• List of references

[edit] External Links