barred owl

noun

: a large North American owl (Strix varia) with brown eyes and bars of dark brown on the breast

Examples of barred owl in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If anyone is around the park during dusk, Morgan said there are screech and barred owls that call out as the sun is setting. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 28 June 2024 Instead, great horned and barred owls have grown in number and range, likely responsible for the demise of the screech owl, Pfannmuller noted. John Myers, Twin Cities, 26 May 2024 Just last year, Central Park’s celebrity barred owl Barry died after colliding with a maintenance vehicle. Ryan Mandelbaum, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022 The Vermont Institute of Natural Science says staffers treated a record total of 705 wild birds in 2019 at the institute’s Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation, and 77 of those were barred owls. USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2020 Small efforts to remove barred owls in British Columbia and northern California already showed promising results. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of barred owl was in 1784

Dictionary Entries Near barred owl

Cite this Entry

“Barred owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barred%20owl. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on barred owl

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!