Nearly 80% of the land area within America’s contiguous 48 states lies within a single kilometer of a road. So it’s no surprise that traffic accidents regularly kill or injure barred owls. They tend to breed in populated suburban neighborhoods. Beginning in 1998 some studies have indicated that collisions with vehicles is the number one cause of death for barred owls, and suggest that they are particularly vulnerable because their big eyes are easily blinded by headlights.

The Effects of Road and Landscape Characteristics on the likelihood of a Barred Owl (Strix Varia)-Vehicle Collision, in Urban Ecosystems, published online April 25, 2015.