The head is puffy and round, and feather tufts are absent. The pupil and iris of the barred owl are both brown, whereas all other typical owls in the U.S. have yellow eyes with black pupils. Barred owls usually are nocturnal, but their dark eyes act as sunglasses, providing them with keen eyesight even in full daylight. They hear as well as they see, and often hunt from dusk through dawn for mice, rabbits, opossums, bats, small birds, lizards, frogs, and insects. This species is also known to consume fish, crayfish, and snails from the water's edge.
Barred owls are very vocal birds, often calling to one another at night, sometimes during the day.
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