15 Types of Owls in Washington State (and How to Identify Each One)
October 26, 2026
Washington state supports one of the richest owl communities in the Pacific Northwest, and most residents never realize how many species share their backyards, forests, and farmland. From the familiar hoot of a great horned owl to the ghostly white plumage of a winter-visiting snowy owl, the types of owls in Washington state span nearly every habitat the state has to offer. More than a dozen species of owls live in Washington.
Some of these birds nest in city parks and wooded neighborhoods. Others hide in remote old-growth forest or shrub-steppe canyons that few hikers ever visit. This guide walks through all 15 owl species confirmed in Washington, what makes each one distinct, and where a patient observer might actually find one.
| Owl | Size | Typical Habitat | Best Time to See |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barred Owl | Large | Mature forest, wooded suburbs | Year-round |
| Great Horned Owl | Large | Forests, farmland, urban parks | Year-round |
| Western Screech Owl | Small | Riparian woodland, wooded yards | Year-round |
| Barn Owl | Medium-large | Farmland, grassland, barns | Year-round |
| Northern Spotted Owl | Medium-large | Old-growth conifer forest | Year-round, rare |
| Northern Saw-whet Owl | Small | Mixed and coniferous forest | Year-round, fall migration |
| Northern Pygmy Owl | Very small | Coniferous woodland | Year-round |
| Snowy Owl | Large | Open fields, coastal dunes | Winter, irregular |
| Long-Eared Owl | Medium | Dense thickets near open ground | Year-round, elusive |
| Northern Hawk Owl | Medium | Boreal forest, burned stands | Winter, rare visitor |
| Great Gray Owl | Very large | Subalpine forest, mountain meadow | Year-round, rare |
| Short-Eared Owl | Medium | Grassland, wetland, shrub-steppe | Year-round, best at dusk |
| Burrowing Owl | Small | Shrub-steppe, grassland burrows | Spring through summer |
| Flammulated Owl | Very small | Dry pine and mixed forest | Summer, migratory |
| Boreal Owl | Small | High-elevation subalpine forest | Year-round, very rare |
1. Barred Owl
The barred owl (Strix varia) is one of the most commonly heard owls in western Washington, known for its rolling “who-cooks-for-you” call that carries through wet lowland forest. It has largely replaced its rarer relative, the barred owl populations found in Minnesota and much of the eastern United States, expanding westward over the past century until it became established throughout the Pacific Northwest.
This expansion has made the barred owl a serious concern for wildlife managers. Barred owls are impacting other native wildlife in Washington, and are not simply replacing northern spotted owls in the food web; their generalist diet, wider distribution, and higher population densities are disrupting ecosystems that affect many other at-risk species. The two species are close enough genetically that hybrids occasionally occur. One bird originally thought to be a spotted owl was identified as a cross-breed near Mount Baker in the northern Cascades, a hybrid sometimes nicknamed a “sparred owl.”
Pro Tip: Barred owls are bold and often respond to imitations of their call, but they can also be aggressive toward hikers and dogs during nesting season, so keep a respectful distance.
2. Great Horned Owl
Few birds in North America are as widespread as the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). It is the most widely distributed owl in both Washington and North America, occupying dense forests, open woodlands, clear-cuts, deserts, and urban environments, including golf courses, cemeteries, and parks with adjacent woodlots. Its deep, rhythmic hooting is the sound most people associate with owls in general.
This owl is also one of the most versatile hunters in the state. Great horned owls primarily eat small mammals such as rabbits, skunks, and rodents, along with a variety of birds including quail, ducks, and smaller owl species, plus reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects to a lesser extent. That broad diet, paired with a willingness to nest almost anywhere, explains why great horned owls thrive from coastal rainforest to shrub-steppe. Readers curious about other raptors sharing this range can compare notes with the hawks found across Washington state.
3. Western Screech Owl
The western screech owl (Otus kennicottii) is a small, well-camouflaged owl that many people hear far more often than they see. It has a height of 10 inches and a 20-inch wingspan, with adults appearing dark brown or gray and sporting small ear-tufts; it is a year-round resident throughout Washington that nests in tree cavities, including old woodpecker holes, and will also use nest boxes. That reliance on abandoned cavities links it closely to the state’s woodpecker species in Washington, since many screech owls simply move into holes woodpeckers already drilled.
Unfortunately, this species is under growing pressure from the barred owl’s expansion. Wildlife managers have identified management of barred owl populations to reduce predation risk as an action needed for the screech owl, along with surveys to evaluate screech owl response to barred owl presence or removal. Screech owls near streams and wetlands also eat frogs on occasion, a diet overlap worth noting for anyone browsing Washington’s frog species.
4. Barn Owl
With a pale, heart-shaped face and silent, moth-like flight, the barn owl (Tyto alba) is unmistakable once seen. It is one of the largest owl species in Washington, distinctive for its white, heart-shaped face, no ear-tufts, dark eyes, and golden-buff plumage with ghostly light underparts, and it has a 39-inch wingspan with long legs giving it a height of up to 20 inches.
True to its name, the barn owl has a close relationship with agricultural buildings. The barn owl has a preference for rats and other rodents and earned its name by readily nesting in barns, silos, and sheds. Farmers in eastern Washington often welcome the species for exactly this reason, since a single family of barn owls can remove hundreds of rodents from a property over a season.
5. Northern Spotted Owl
No owl in Washington carries more conservation weight than the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). It was listed as an endangered species in Washington by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in 1988, and was listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1990. The bird depends almost entirely on structurally complex forest. Northern spotted owls have large home ranges, and the most common prey is the northern flying squirrel, though they also take bushy-tailed woodrats, snowshoe hares, and other small mammals.
The species’ outlook has continued to worsen even with decades of habitat protection. The decline of spotted owls has not subsided in Washington, and the population has become critically imperiled, having declined by up to 80 to 90 percent in some predominantly federal landscapes. A 2023 review found the situation just as dire on the ground: data suggests less than 25 percent of roughly 1,200 documented owl territories in Washington are occupied by the species. Much of that decline traces back to competition rather than habitat alone, since spotted owls are at a competitive disadvantage to the more generalist barred owl, which has expanded its range to now include the entire distribution of the northern spotted owl. The ripple effects reach beyond owls entirely, as the endangered Canada lynx and fisher are forced to compete with barred owls for important prey species like snowshoe hares. Anyone tracking the state’s most vulnerable wildlife can find more context on the endangered animals of Washington page.
Important Note: Wildlife managers have begun limited lethal removal of barred owls in priority spotted owl habitat as a conservation strategy, a controversial but scientifically supported approach given the scale of the population decline.
6. Northern Saw-whet Owl
Roughly the size of a soda can, the northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is easy to overlook despite being one of the more common small owls in the state. Observers have documented it in a range of Washington habitats, from lowland refuges like Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge to forested tracts in Yakima County and north-central Washington. Its high-pitched, evenly spaced tooting call, often compared to a saw being sharpened, is far more often heard than the bird itself is seen.
This species nests in cavities much like the western screech owl, and the two sometimes compete for the same tree holes. For a broader look at how Washington’s owls compare to species in other regions, the Western Washington owl identification guide from the Islands’ Wildlife Interpretive Center covers several of these smaller species side by side.
7. Northern Pygmy Owl
At barely the size of a sparrow, the northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium gnoma) is a fierce hunter despite its diminutive frame. This tiny, mostly brown or reddish-brown owl favors coniferous and mixed woodlands and is active during daylight hours far more than most owls, often perching in the open on a snag while scanning for prey.
Pygmy owls take an outsized share of songbirds relative to their body size, ambushing them from a perch in a burst of speed. That habit makes them a natural predator concern for backyard birders who track species covered in the finches found in Washington state guide, since finch flocks are a favored target near forest edges.
8. Snowy Owl
The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is the most striking winter visitor among the types of owls in Washington state, arriving from Arctic breeding grounds in years when lemming populations crash to the north. Adult males are nearly pure white, while females and young birds carry dark barring across their feathers.
Unlike most owls, snowy owls hunt comfortably in daylight, a trait shaped by the near-constant summer sun of the Arctic tundra where they breed. In Washington, they show up irregularly along open coastal beaches, airport grasslands, and farm fields in eastern parts of the state, usually in what birders call irruption years rather than as a predictable annual pattern.
9. Long-Eared Owl
The long-eared owl (Asio otus) is one of the hardest owls in Washington to actually find, despite being present across much of the state. Its long, close-set ear tufts and slender, mottled brown body let it disappear against tree bark when roosting, and it typically chooses dense thickets or conifer stands adjacent to open hunting ground.
This owl roosts communally outside the breeding season, sometimes with several birds sharing a single dense grove. Its preference for open grassland and shrub-steppe for hunting overlaps with species covered in the owls documented in Maine, another state where the long-eared owl remains a genuinely difficult bird to locate.
10. Northern Hawk Owl
The northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula) looks and behaves more like a hawk than a typical owl, with a long tail, direct flight, and a habit of hunting in daylight from an exposed perch. This medium-sized owl is a true rarity in Washington, showing up mainly in northern parts of the state near the Canadian border during occasional winter movements out of boreal forest.
Its preference for open coniferous forest and recently burned stands makes it one of the least predictable species on this list. Sightings tend to cluster in years when prey populations crash further north, pushing birds south in search of voles and small mammals, much like the irregular movements seen in eagles found in Washington state during lean winters.
11. Great Gray Owl
Washington’s largest owl by overall length is the great gray owl (Strix nebulosa), a species so tied to remote habitat that most residents will never encounter one. This species is uncommon and unlikely to be seen on most properties due to its habitat preference for mountains. Its enormous facial disc and yellow eyes give it a distinctive, almost owl-of-legend appearance.
Great gray owls hunt largely by sound, using their exceptional hearing to detect small mammals moving beneath snow in subalpine meadows. Because the species depends on old-growth and mature forest edges bordering open meadow, its Washington range is limited to a handful of mountain regions, mostly in the northeastern part of the state.
12. Short-Eared Owl
The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is one of the few owls in Washington regularly seen hunting in broad daylight, gliding low over open grassland with a moth-like wingbeat. It is a medium-sized member of the owl family, with both sexes ranging between 7 and 16 ounces and about 13 to 17 inches long; its wings span 33 to 41 inches and are broad with rounded tips, and the bird is medium brown with a streaked breast and wings and spotted buff and white on the belly.
The species’ numbers have been slipping for decades. The population of the short-eared owl is low, and it is thought to be experiencing a range-wide, long-term decline in North America, though its nomadic tendencies make long-term trends difficult to detect. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has designated the owls in western Washington as a species of greatest conservation need. Grassland and wetland loss are the primary drivers, and the bird’s habit of roaming widely between breeding seasons only adds to the difficulty of tracking its true status.
13. Burrowing Owl
Unlike almost every other owl on this list, the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) nests underground, often reusing abandoned badger or ground squirrel burrows across the shrub-steppe of central and eastern Washington. It is uncommon and unlikely to be seen on most properties due to its habitat preference for shrub-steppe areas. Long legs and a habit of bobbing up and down when alert make it one of the more recognizable owls once spotted.
This small, sandy-brown owl is active during both day and night, and its diet leans heavily on large insects alongside small rodents. Anyone exploring the ground-dwelling insects that make up part of that diet can find related coverage in the beetles of Washington state guide, since ground beetles are a regular menu item for burrowing owls hunting at dusk.
14. Flammulated Owl
One of the smallest and least-seen owls in North America, the flammulated owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) is a summer-only resident of dry ponderosa pine forest in eastern Washington. Its soft, low-pitched hoot carries far more distance than its tiny body would suggest, and the bird is almost entirely insectivorous, feeding on moths and other night-flying insects gathered from foliage.
Unlike nearly every other owl covered here, the flammulated owl migrates south for the winter rather than toughening out cold months in the state. That reliance on a seasonal insect supply links it to the broader patterns covered in the mosquitoes and other insects found in Washington, since a warm, insect-rich summer is essential to the species’ breeding success.
15. Boreal Owl
The boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) is arguably the hardest owl species in Washington to confirm, restricted to high-elevation subalpine forest near the Canadian border. This small, round-headed owl with a pale facial disc and dark border is far more common across boreal Canada and Alaska, with Washington representing the southern edge of its range.
Because of its remote habitat and nocturnal habits, most confirmed Washington records come from targeted call surveys rather than chance encounters. The species shares its high-elevation, cold-forest preference with populations found much farther east, similar to the boreal-adapted owls covered in the Minnesota owl guide, where the boreal owl is also considered a genuine rarity.
Final Thoughts on Washington’s Owls
Identifying the types of owls in Washington state takes patience, since most species are nocturnal, well camouflaged, and often located by call rather than sight. Learning each owl’s preferred habitat, whether that’s old-growth conifer forest, shrub-steppe canyon, or a farm shed, dramatically improves the odds of a real encounter.
Several of these species, particularly the northern spotted owl and short-eared owl, face real conservation challenges that make responsible birdwatching more important than ever. For a broader introduction to owl biology and behavior beyond Washington’s borders, the different types of owls found worldwide guide offers useful additional context, as does the comparison of owl species documented in Louisiana for readers curious how these same families adapt to a very different climate.