The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males. The wingspan is approximately forty two inches. Northern Spotted Owls are dark brown with round or oval white spots on the head, neck, back and have a whitish underbody with brown bars along the abdomen and chest. Their flight feathers are dark brown in color and have light brown or white bars. They have dark eyes contrary to most owls which have light eyes. The facial disk has white feathers around the eyes running down each side of the beak. They can survive in the wild for ten years and up to fifteen to twenty in captivity.
