What kind of owl would I have seen in St. Louis Missouri?

Question

I live in thee suburbs outside St. Louis. i was driving near a wooded area at 9:30 in the morning on January 5th and I saw an eerie-looking owl in the trees off the road. I cannot for the life of me find an owl that matches its description. It was large, a grey-brown color, dark eyes, flat face, and a sharp beak.

Answer 1

I'm not sure, but every year the wild bird sanctuary off Hwy 44 offers a session that teaches all about local owls. They could possibly help you figure out what kind you saw.

Answer 2

Another good sized owl (without ear tufts) is the barred owl. They are not that uncommon in tree stands through the Eastern US and midwest. Horizontal grey brown/white stripes on the midsection and it's call ('who cooks for you - who cooks for YOU awwwl') are distinctive.

Drive by sightings of birds in trees are often hard to identify, even if you look it up in a book right after.

Answer 3

Its possible that you saw a great grey owl, but more likely it was a great horned owl. You say it was large, but, compared to what?

Answer 4

Don't know where you've searched for the owl, but if you haven't tried it already, go to the web site whatbird.com. Very informative and entertaining.