Barred Owl Strix varia
This dark eyed beauty was sitting quietly in a nearby tree when I came around a woodland path. A couple of minutes after I stopped, she actually flew a little bit closer, to a doubtless favored perch: perfect for sitting and surveying and spying and flying at a foolishly moving mouse. Male and female Barred Owls are difficult to tell apart: but this one looked fairly large (the females are bigger), and I could hear what sounded like the male singing up the ridge. This owl’s species name, varia, could equally refer to the cryptically mottled plumage or to the extraordinary variety of cackles, barks and hoots that they often add to their famous “who cooks for you/who cooks for you all?” song.