U Heard Right, Barred Owl

No, it doesn’t end in an “N” as in BarN Owl, it’s Barred Owl. If you live in the midwest or eastern part of the United States you may be familiar with this species; out west only in select areas. The first time you hear its call, you’re convinced it’s a prank by the neighborhood kids, or at minimum a crazy hunter. No way is this the sound of a real animal, to paraphrase, “Who cooks for you?” to a loud “WHO COOKS FOR YOU?” Several of them together, a parliament of owls, make it even more unbelievable. If you’re a lifelong city dweller, you’ll need to see them with your own two eyes for verification (they have up to a four foot wingspan).

A parliament of three or so visit throughout the year and stay from two to fourteen days encircling our house, each in its own tree. Most of the time they vocalize on their own, amongst themselves, but on occasion in response to our movement. Turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night may get a “Hello.”

There are various interpretations, but for humans I say it's GREAT luck to have them around; for small rodents, not so. On the afternoon of my past birthday I was able to observe one on a tree limb for quite awhile in close-up with binoculars, exiting it flew directly at us then curved up (we were in a screened porch on a hill). My spouse gave me a Parliament chocolate candy bar that day and its logo is an owl (the wrapping is currently a part of my bulletin board collage).

Our old house had a very cool year-round Turkey Vulture nest directly across the creek, they sometimes urinate on themselves and vomit at would be aggressors. Both the Barred Owl and the Turkey Vulture are a grand delight to see in flight. Though, as with the candy bar illustration above, owls, in general, are normally depicted stationary on tree limbs, not in flight. From the 1968 Tootsie Pop ads with wise Mr. Owl, to the late-night Adult Swim TV network bump owl.

Prior to last year's premiere of “The Owl House,” this bird was rarely cast as a regular, especially so as a lead in American 2D animation. In “Home Movies: Yoko,” 1999 Coach McGuirk (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) takes the fourth graders on a camping trip and an owl visual and vocal are used for transitions. The cocreator and much of the cast of this show (Bouchard, Benjamin, and Mirman) go on to create “Bob’s Burgers.” The only owl reference I recall is “Bob’s Burgers: Bed & Breakfast,” 2011, where Teddy first assaults and then dates a person in an owl costume.

The infamous hookah smoking caterpillar (voiced by UK actor Richard Haydn) from Alice in Wonderland (1951) premieres singing all of the vowels, accenting the U and holding on it. His first line of dialogue is “Who are you?” It is repeated several times and there are multiple follow up questions that begin with WH. Elevated on a toadstool similar to an owl in a tree, he is basically a stand in for the Barred Owl, “Who cooks for you?”

An Australian/US coproduction Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) features an entire cast of CG animated Owls, but they feature BarN as it is a native to both countries.

We often hear the Barred Owls at dusk, but not this evening. So I’m playing Athena by The Who [cooks for you] as an owl was an icon for the wise Greek Goddess Athena. I can’t wait for the Barred owl’s return, and with it, good times.