The dark eyes and constant vocalization give the barred owl away. While they appear similar in size to the great horned owl, they are not nearly as powerful, possessing smaller talons and weighing only about one pound. Great horned owls have large feather tufts on their heads and have large yellow eyes.
Barred owls have dark eyes and no feather tufts.
Barred owls have also made their home in town, nesting in parks, like Washington Park in Springfield, Illinois. The Illinois Raptor Center received several calls in the Spring of 2000 about branching barred owls in the Washington Park area. These owls are just learning to fly. Return to Illinois Raptor Center Home Page. Its diet consists primarily of mice, but includes mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, spiders and crawfish.