Barred Owl Identification All About

I took this picture through my window with my Canon camera with the big zoom. He was very cooperative and didn't fly away when he saw me.

There are several of these owls living in my backyard. They are quite large. Once I saw one carry off a squirrel. They can also be quite loud when they call to each other in the early evening. Check out the link below; there's a really good sound file

Barred Owl, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

In Native American culture, many tribes saw owls as related to death. When I worked on the Meskwaki Settlement, the tribal members said that seeing an owl meant a death was coming.

OWLS IN AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURE

Among the various Native American Tribes there are many different beliefs regarding the owl.

Apache: Dreaming of an Owl signified an approaching death.

Cherokee: Eastern Screech-owls valued by the shamans as consultants thinking was that they could bring on sickness as a punishment.

Cree: Believed the Boreal Owl whistles were summons from the spirits. If a person answered with a similar whistle and did not hear a response, then he would soon die.
Dakota Hidatsa: The Burrowing Owl was a protective spirit for brave warriors.

Hopis: The Burrowing Owl as a god of the dead. The guardian of fires and tender of all underground things, including seed germination. Their name for the Burrowing Owl is Ko‘Ko it means —Watcher of the Dark“. They also believed that the Great Horned Owl helped their peaches grow.

Inuit: Short-eared Owl was once a young girl who was magically transformed into an Owl with a long beak. But the Owl became frightened and flew into the side of a house, flattening its face and beak. They also named the Boreal Owl —the blind one,“ because of
its tameness during daylight. Inuit children make pets of Boreal Owls.

Kwagulth: Believed that owls represented both a deceased person and their newly-released soul.

Lenape: Believed that if they dreamt of an Owl it would become their guardian.

Menominee: Believed that day and night were created after a talking contest between a Saw-whet Owl (Totoba) and a rabbit (Wabus). The rabbit won and selected daylight, but allowed night time as a benefit to the vanquished Owl