Owls in Canada
Our list for Canada has 12 owls recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 1 summer visitor, 9 winter visitors and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Canada in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Snowy OwlBubo scandiacusWinter visitorUncommon52–71 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Great Horned OwlBubo virginianusWinter visitorUncommon46–63 cmRecorded all year
Barred OwlStrix variaResidentUncommon43–50 cmRecorded all year
Short-eared OwlAsio flammeusWinter visitorUncommon34–43 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asioWinter visitorUncommon16–25 cmRecorded all year
Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicusWinter visitorUncommon17–21 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Long-eared OwlAsio otusWinter visitorRare35–40 cmRegularly Jul–May
Northern Pygmy-owlGlaucidium gnomaWinter visitorRare15–17 cmRecorded all year
Boreal OwlAegolius funereusWinter visitorRare21–28 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Western Screech-owlMegascops kennicottiiWinter visitorRare19–25 cmRecorded all year
Burrowing OwlAthene cuniculariaScarceRare19–25 cm
Flammulated OwlPsiloscops flammeolusSummer visitorRare15–17 cmRegularly May–Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Northern Pygmy-owl 15–17 cm
- Flammulated Owl 15–17 cm
- Northern Saw-whet Owl 17–21 cm
- Eastern Screech-owl 16–25 cm
- Western Screech-owl 19–25 cm
- Burrowing Owl 19–25 cm
- Boreal Owl 21–28 cm
- Long-eared Owl 35–40 cm
- Short-eared Owl 34–43 cm
- Barred Owl 43–50 cm
- Great Horned Owl 46–63 cm
- Snowy Owl 52–71 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made