Do great horned owls and Barred Owls get along?

Great horned owls and barred owls are two species of owl that overlap in range across much of North America. They occupy similar ecological niches, being large, generalist predatory birds. This leads to the question of whether the two species get along when they occur together.

Quick Answers

– Great horned owls and barred owls do not get along well. They compete for resources and territory.

– Great horned owls are larger and more aggressive. They often kill or drive away barred owls from territories.

– However, barred owls have expanded their range and increased in numbers, leading to more competition between the species.

– Hybridization between the two species has also been documented in areas where they overlap.

Competition for Resources

One of the main reasons great horned owls and barred owls do not get along is that they compete for the same resources like food, nesting sites, and territory. Both species prey on small mammals like rabbits, mice, voles, and rats. They also eat birds, amphibians, reptiles, and even fish. This dietary overlap means they are searching for prey in the same areas.

Great horned owls and barred owls also nest early in spring, so they compete for the best nesting sites. They often choose similar habitat for nesting like large tree cavities, abandoned hawk or heron nests, and nooks in cliffs or rock crevices. The limited availability of ideal nesting spots contributes to conflict over territories.

Territory Defense

Barred owls are highly territorial birds that defend their home ranges from intruders. However, when expanding great horned owl populations move into their areas, the larger great horned owls typically dominate. Great horned owls will attack and often kill barred owls they encounter within their territories.

Barred owls will try to defend their nests from great horned owls but usually fail. There are many reported cases of great horned owls overtaking the nests of barred owls and killing their eggs or young.

Great horned owls also chase away and exclude barred owls from good hunting grounds within their territories. Their larger size and fierce disposition gives them an advantage in most interactions between the two species.

Range Expansion of Barred Owls

Historically, barred owls lived predominantly in eastern North America while great horned owls occupied a wider range across the continent. This distribution minimized competition between the species.

However, over the past century barred owls have greatly expanded their range westward and northward. Their populations have also increased dramatically. It is estimated that barred owl numbers doubled between 1966 and 2015.

This range expansion has brought barred owls into contact with more great horned owls, increasing competition and conflict between the two raptors. The larger great horned owls usually dominate the smaller barred owls when defending territories.

Hybridization

Another indication that great horned owls and barred owls don’t get along well in the wild is that they sometimes interbreed where their ranges overlap. Hybrid offspring, which inherit genes from both species, have been documented in several parts of North America.

Known great horned owl x barred owl hybrid zones include:

• Pennsylvania
• New York
• Michigan
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Oregon
• California

The hybrids exhibit intermediate traits like barred-patterned underparts and striped crowns. However, their breeding behavior and competitiveness falls somewhere between the two parent species.

The fact that these normally territorial predators interbreed in the wild provides evidence that they do not segregate or avoid one another completely where their home ranges overlap.

Coexistence Despite Competition

Though great horned owls and barred owls compete aggressively in many situations, they are both adaptable generalists able to exploit a variety of habitats and prey. This allows them to coexist across large portions of North America despite substantial range overlap.

Both species inhabit open woodlands, swamps, wooded suburban and urban areas. When food is plentiful, they may hunt in the same areas without competing directly.

Some key factors that allow great horned owls and barred owls to coexist include:

• Flexibility in nesting and hunting habitats
• Ability to take a wide variety of prey
• Willingness to shift ranges in response to competition
• Toleration of some overlap in home ranges

The differences in their preferred habitats also facilitate coexistence. Barred owls adapt better to dense, mature forests while great horned owls are more often found along forest edges and openings.

Overall, despite frequent aggressive interactions, the adaptability and habitat tolerance of these two owl species allows them to generally coexist across large portions of North America.

Conclusion

In conclusion, great horned owls and barred owls do not get along well in most situations. Their competition for prey, nest sites, and hunting territories often leads to aggression and displacement of the smaller barred owls by great horneds.

Hybridization between the two species also provides evidence that they interact frequently where their ranges overlap, rather than avoiding one another.

However, the adaptability and flexible habitat use of both owls does facilitate a degree of coexistence and range overlap between the competing species across many regions.

Overall, the balance tips towards great horned owls dominating barred owls in most competitive interactions. But the two species are generally able to maintain stable populations side-by-side despite their conflicts. Their similarities as generalist predators make coexistence challenging, but adaptability prevents outright exclusion in most areas where great horned owls and barred owls both reside.