Juvenile Barred Owls (Identification Guide with Pictures)

Because of its round head and lack of ear hair, the barred owl (variant) has distinctive brown and white striped plumage and is native to eastern North America. Our guide to juvenile barred owls explores the early developmental stages of these prolific predators.

Barred owls hatch covered in white down, which is replaced by longer feathers after 2 to 3 weeks. Juvenile barred owls gradually develop the same light tan and white color as adults, but with less pronounced markings.

When they leave the nest, about 4 to 5 weeks old, juvenile barred owls are not yet able to fly. Before long, they begin to molt into their adult plumage and steadily master the art of flight over the next month.

Adult plumage is complete between 5 and 6 months, by which time juveniles are indistinguishable from adults.

If you’d like to learn more about the little barred owl’s appearance, feeding and hunting habits, read on.

Juvenile barred owl perched on a branch in Texas

What do juvenile barred owls look like?

When little striped owls first hatch, they are covered with white down, which is replaced by a second set of soft, buff, white-tipped feathers two to three weeks later.

After about six weeks, adult feathers begin to develop, at which point their horizontal stripes gradually become more defined.

Striped Owl Chick (Owlet)

juvenile striped owl

What color are barred owl juveniles?

Newly hatched barred owls are initially white, but this downy covering is soon replaced by a light brown second undercoat with a white tip.

When they reach 6 weeks of age, the adult plumage begins to develop, giving the juveniles the same distinctive light brown and white striped plumage as adults.

By about 6 months, their markings become more distinct rather than mottled.

How big are barred owl juveniles?

When hatched, the little barred owl weighs about 46 g (1.6 oz) and grows rapidly over the next few weeks, with young owls gaining about 15 g (0.5 oz) per day for the 30 days they spend in the nest before fledging. ).

By the time juvenile barred owls leave the nest, they are only 50 to 75 percent the size and weight of adults.

Barred owl chick perched on a log

What do juvenile barred owls eat?

Barred owl chicks initially have food brought to the nest by the male parent, which is torn up by the female and fed to the young.

By two to three weeks of age, adults bring prey to the nest, but young owls are increasingly able to feed and move around the nest on their own.

Juveniles eat the same prey as adults, mainly rodents (mice, rats, and voles), shrews and moles, small birds, and occasionally lizards and skinks.

Once fledgling, young birds continue to rely on prey delivered by their parents for several weeks until they become fully fledged hunters themselves.

Adult Barred Owl Feeding Chicks

Why Do Juvenile Barred Owls Scream?

Screaming is a form of communication for juvenile barred owls. Loud hissing is often heard when young owls beg for food from their mothers.

Once they leave the nest, piercing screams can often be heard near the nest. Young spotted owls continue to communicate their location to their parents or other chicks using high-pitched contact calls.

How Long Do Barred Owl Juvenile Feathers Last?

Until about 5 to 6 months of age, juvenile barred owls can be clearly distinguished from adult birds because although their coloration is the same as that of fully mature birds, their markings are more mottled and less refined.

From about 6 weeks, the adult feathers begin to develop and the striped markings gradually become more defined and distinct.

Pair of young barred owls

How long do juvenile barred owls stay with their parents?

Barred owls leave the nest at 4 to 5 weeks of age but receive close support from their parents for the next few weeks. As young birds grow their feathers before they are able to fly, they continue to need food and support to survive and learn to hunt.

Young striped owls do not return to the nest after leaving, but stay nearby, perching on the branches around the nest. If they fall to the ground, their sharp claws and beaks allow them to climb to the safety of branches on tree trunks, where their parents provide them with food until they can hunt independently.

Short flights are possible by about 10 weeks, and longer, sustained flights are mastered by about 12 weeks.

By the fall after hatching, parental prey for the chicks winds down and the young owls are now able to sustain flight and become more independent.

Around this time, their association with the parent birds ceases and the young owls leave to find new territories of their own. The first breeding usually occurs in birds around 2 years of age, although there are records of successful rearing of young by one-year-old birds.

Adult barred owl perched with its young

Other species that look similar to juvenile barred owls

Several species of owl have speckled plumage of fawn and white plumage, similar in appearance to juvenile barred owls, which can make it difficult to tell them apart at first.

Juvenile spotted owls are similar in size to juvenile spotted owls, but are darker in color with white markings. Neither species has ear hair, and a distinguishing feature is the beak of juvenile barred owls which is a brighter orange-yellow than the more muted yellow of spotted owls.

The great horned owl is another species and may be confused with juvenile barred owls from a distance. One obvious factor is color, with the great horned owl’s plumage being grayer than the barred owl’s fawn markings.

Great horned owls are larger than barred owls even before they are fully grown and have prominent ear tufts.

At about six weeks, the juvenile barred owl’s plumage resembles that of an adult owl

What is an immature striped owl called?

Like the young of other owls, immature barred owls are called owls.