From Washington To You
A northern spotted owl perched in a forest, photographed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Photograph by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

From Washington to you

Northern Spotted Owl

Olympic National Forest · Jefferson County · listed threatened June 26, 1990

USFWS listed this old-forest owl as threatened in 1990. It still holds that status, from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon into northern California.

The northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is the largest of three spotted-owl subspecies. USFWS says it inhabits structurally complex forests from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon into northern California. The birds are medium-sized, chocolate brown, with dark eyes and round or irregular white spots.

USFWS listed the subspecies as threatened on June 26, 1990. The owls are nocturnal perch-and-pounce predators. They primarily eat small forest mammals such as flying squirrels, woodrats, voles, and mice. In 2020 the Service found that reclassification to endangered was warranted but precluded by higher-priority listing work.

This card does not guess how many pairs remain in Washington. The sources below are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service species record and the 1990 listing.

  • Wildlife & Ecology

Sources (3)

Last reviewed: September 20, 2026

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