Spotted Owl
Strix
occidentalis
Records generalized to full township/ranges; true population density thus much thinner than symbolized. Once uncommon but widespread in mature coniferous forests with dense canopy cover at moderate elevations in Cascades on both sides of crest; now rare, local, declining precipitously, and may be headed for extirpation. Population crash attributed to after-effects of unsustainable forestry practices exacerbated by competition from recent arrival and phenomenal spread of Barred Owls. Second-phase atlas teams found far fewer Spotted Owls, with Barred Owls newly present in many former Spotted Owl locations.
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