From the book

“Who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all? is one of the best-known mnemonics in all of birdsong, and it belongs to the Barred Owl. As with other owls, the female is about a third larger than the male, yet she has the higher voice . . . Listen carefully to the you-all on the end and you’ll no doubt hear that the female’s is more exaggerated, with more vibrato (more of a you-alllllll than the male’s you-all).”

Here’s the “cook” call. The bird was identified as a female, although there’s little vibrato in the you-all at the end of the call. She calls three times in about a minute and a half.

From the book

“Listen for other sounds, too. There’s the ascending series of six to nine who notes followed by the familiar ending: who-who-who-who-who-who-who-you-all.”

Listen to this territorial dispute between two pairs, with one pair in the foreground, the other in the background. The two foreground birds give the classic ascending series, the female with distinctly more vibrato in her you-alllllll than in the male’s simpler you-all.

From the book

“Listen also for the harsh, raspy screeches of the young once they have left the nest.”

The higher-pitched, harsh calls of hungry young are so different from the lower hooting of the adults. Here are two selections, the first with an adult hooting in the background.