Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis)

Description: 16 to 19 inches tall, dark brown with white spots above; brown barring below; dark eyes. Strix owls are round headed, fluffy birds with no ear tufts. Voice: The most common is two to three short hoots, followed by a louder more prolonged hooo-ah. Habitat: Coniferous forests, densely wooded canyons. Nesting: Two or three white eggs, usually in a natural tree or canyon wall cavity or an abandoned nest. Range: Rain forests of extreme southern British Columbia to San Francisco Bay; forests of the Sierra Nevada and other western ranges to southern California; the Rocky Mountains from Colorado south into Mexico. This large rodent eater is rather rare in much of the west. It lives in dense stands of mature forests, and the lack of old-growth trees has led to the owl's disappearance throughout much of its range. As a result, the spotted owl is a protected species under the federal Endangered Species Act.