These Caterwauling Barred Owls Sound Like Monkeys - Calling All Turkeys 

Scared the shit out of me at 2am, thought a dang chimpanzee was outside my house

heard this outside my house and i thought it was a lunatic in the middle of the night screaming

First time I heard this at like 3 am I was freaking out

I set my Bluetooth speaker outside on the deck & played this. I drew up every barred owl in the nearby forest. 2 flew directly over my head. Another flew into the tree nearest my deck & sat there staring at the speaker 😜 the forest around my house came alive with owls from everywhere. The hooting is so loud from every direction all I can do is just giggle. What fun 😆😆😆😆😆

When they open with their aggressive hoot right next to you in dark in the deer stand you will almost need new pants

Hearing them outside now! sounds like monkeys!

I just heard a BUNCH of them sounding like they were having an argument (it's 3:30 in the morning) and I rushed to find out what it was! Thanks for this video!

I hear "my" barred owl do this a lot. Kind of neat. How eerie if you didn't know what it was.

My brother and I always ask "did you hear the owls having a HOOTenanny last night?!?" The woods behind our house sounds like a barred owl sanctuary🥰 My dog paces at windows not sure what he should do about the hooting, lol

I live in the south part of the Portland, Oregon metro area and was awakened the other night (late May 2019) by a cacophony of mysterious sounds. Fortunately, I pulled out my cell phone and recorded portions of the calls that seemed to be coming from several trees. Since then, I've been scouring RU-vid videos in order to identify what I thought could have been owls. Yours has confirmed that what woke me (and several neighbors) were indeed Barred owls. Thanks so much for posting this. I've lived in the same house over 25 years and never before had heard these awesome creatures.

I was hunting and heard this sound, it freaked me out. That’s why I’m hear, I thought it was a monkey lol!

between the mellow-ish (but still excited) hoots and the raucous cackles, I think this is one of my favorite Barred Owl videos EVER.

It's amazing how much wildlife lives in suburbia, but people just don't notice. In particularly they don't listen because there's just too much NOISE going on all the time.

I heard this in my yard today, actually. We have at least 2 breeding pairs that come late in the winter every year, and stay through the summer to hatch their eggs and raise the owlets. It's very fascinating to see all their stages of life in your own backyard.

That's what it sounds like in my LIVING ROOM (practically) every night. And I live in the suburbs! They make some racket. I love it though -- makes me feel like I'm living in the forest. I have two huge (red gum) trees in my small yard -- I think they particularly like my trees most, in the entire neighborhood.

Great audio you've captured! I own a small farm in northwest Missouri that has barred owls. When they get going like this, the gobblers in any nearby trees go absolutely nuts for as long as the hooting and laughing goes on.

Yess! This is what i've been hearing outside my bedroom window late at night in Durham, NC. I figured it was some kind of owl. It sounds like at least 2 of them. Thanks for your video, it's helped me identify the source of the mysterious sounds.

I’ve lived near lots of barred owls my entire life, and am used to hearing their calls at night. But I’ve never heard this sound until tonight! I immediately assumed it was a juvenile practicing his hoots with the grown-ups, but after a little more research, THIS is exactly what it was! Funny little feathered kids!

Had the pleasure of hearing this out in the woods a handful of times. Never been able to spot the owls, though.

I have some in my yard in ocala and always think of a kucooburra

i was high up on a ladder around 10 feet up when i started hearing these calls last night. then an owl landed pretty close to me. they live in the woods behind my house. really love hearing and seeing them in San Antonio, Texas.

This is what I woke up to this morning 😂😂 I love hearing owls talk back and forth though, so I wasn't even mad 💕

Heard several of these while camping in N Georgia. Woke me up in the middle of the night. Totally freaked me out. Sounded like they were right outside the tent!!

I'm using this right now. I have a total of four called in. I have been using it every weekend for the past month they love it and so do i. Nothing more relaxing

Was visited by what sounded like four of these owls last night, on the Summer Solstice, a message, or medicine, or both. Such an amazing bird.

The first time I heard their caterwauling as a kid, it really freaked me out. I thought there was some cryptid behind the tree line mocking me LOL. They are great birds of prey to have in suburban areas. Strip malls with restaurants in these areas attract a lot of mice and rats which build burrows in neighborhoods. Along with hawks, foxes and raccoons, owls help to keep the rodent population under control.

I'm crying laughing right now 😂 My husband came busting through the bedroom last night @ 10:20 as I went to bed early. He says some loud monkey is yelling on our fence. I said maybe one for loose from Busch Gardens because we're in SW Florida. I was joking of course because I already knew it was an owl. So I just played this for him and he said ,"THAT'S IT!" I'm seriously laughing my ass off!!! 😂😂😂😂😂 THANKS SO MUCH for posting this 👌

So cute! I could listen this all the night long.

Scared the crap out of our family in the forest. We knew it was a bird, but didn't know what kind. This video helped us out, thanks!

There is simply no other bird call on earth I'd rather listen to over and over. Makes me miss the pair that nested in my yard in Florida.

I originally knew there were a bunch of owls outside my somewhat rural house just calling away. I started getting really confused when their hoots transitioned into caterwauling. It seriously spooked me. I thought the owls woke up a crow with their banter and had some sort of fight.

I live in South Carolina and have actually heard a few of these. The 1st time it really scared me for a little bit until the actual monkey sound passed and the normal Owl sound followed. Very cool experience and one I'll fondly remember I Love all the sounds from these incredible birds, their wing span is unbelievable and to see them fly and soar is a Spectacular sight to behold. Gods Creations are truly Amazing❤🙏😇

These guys do this every single night by my window. Every.... single.... night...

those barred owls were hooting their balls off, trying to find a mate

We heard them in Florida! So loud and funny

I was backcountry camping, alone, deep in a hollow of the Bankhead National Forest when I first heard the Barred Owl-right at dusk, last light. I had never heard it before, or at least not the crazy call they can make. Mostly they just give a distinct call we all recognize. But this one was even crazier than heard here. Gave me the creeps until I finally figured out it was a bird. Ha! And I thought I really knew the forest. Well, not everything.

Camping in a state park right now. At 2:30 am I was woke up by two of these right outside my tent doing this. It went on for about 20 minutes. It's amusing listening to them talk to each other.

Heard this outside my window at 4am and thought this is how urban legends are born

They're having quite the conversation going on! If only I understood Barred Owl!

I heard this in my yard last night and freaked out. The squawking at the end is something I had no idea about!! Thanks for uploading this.

I've had guests from the city have panic attacks from this sound.

Heard a strange noise 2 nights in a row while camping at a Provincial Park in Ontario, it sounded like a monkey. The park guide said it was probably an owl. This video just confirmed it. So cool.

Thanks for providing this. My family arrived at a week rental in Hilton Head Island about 9pm. We heard this and almost got back in the car to leave. I just knew it was wild monkeys

Head this at my place,thought it was Bigfoot 😂🤦,felt stupid once I figured out it was just owls.

When I first heard this first impression was a pet monkey while living in NE Florida. Have heard them several times since and on all occasions was very late evening or early morning hours after midnight. Web search revealed the sound was produced by the Barred Owl.

We have heard this outside our house too, but the first time we heard them it was more like howling and screeching

First time I heard them scared hell out of me.

There's some barred owls in the pine trees in my neighborhood that hoot and cackle like this almost every night. I got to see one swoop down from the trees once as I was coming home from work. Absolutely massive birds. Hearing them has become a comforting sound even if the cackling noise is insane 😂

Just like everyone else here I just heard this it's 3 am and I paused my tv and was dead silent about to shit my pants. I had no idea what that was, good thing its only an owl wow that scared me

Love their sounds!! No other bird call! Have 2 in my woods in Florida especially during mating season. Thank you for sharing 🦉🦉❤

I love all owls. But especially barred owls. I had one land in my pecan tree the other night about 20yds from me. I think he was getting ready to perform. But then he saw me and froze. We just stared at each other for about 5 minutes motionless. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. Because I knew that if he knew l saw him, he'd bolt. Finally l decided to glance away for just a sec to grab my camera. Of course when l looked back up 1-2 seconds later, he was gone. Totally silent.

got scared i thought this was coyotes outside of my house but it’s thankfully my funny little owl neighbors

Thought some demented monkeys were crawling the nights but I'm glad to see they were just owls

I Love hearing them especially when they really get wound up. When I was younger I could make a decent owl hoot with the cackles and screams. One morning before daylight during turkey season I was hunting a friend's property. I got out of the truck and listened quietly for any gobbles, then let out my tirade of owl calls and here they came. One by one the owls flew in right above my head and basically cut me off there must have been 8 or 10 owls about 15 ft. above me. They were so loud that I couldn't have heard a gobble if I tried, it was an amazing display and I loved every minute of it!!

Here I am in my bed at midnight. I heard this noise outside my window. (I sleep on the second story of a house) This sound confused me, and had me internally freaking out, until I found out what it was. Thank god RU-vid exists. Lol. I would’ve gone through the night, without sleep. I wake up 3:40am everyday for work.

Am currently setting on my deck in southern Indiana. Played this and within about thirty seconds had three barred owls swooping overhead and settling in the treees near our house. They are talking to each other with an angry tone, trying to find out who the heck invaded their territory.

The first time I heard this noise in my back yard, I thought I was in a Tarzan movie! It really is a jungle sound.

I hear this all the time. Good to have confirmation others have heard it too.

My dog has never howled before , and this video made him go crazy! We have these owls out where we live . How crazy

Wow, I couldn’t figure out what I had in my backyard!! This was it! Thank you!!!

I thought what I was hearing outside my bedroom window in the dark of night was an owl making the strangest sounds. This sounds pretty tame to what I hear sometimes, but I'm sure it's what's outside my window.

Thank you for posting this! I am hearing this for the first time right outside my window (rather loudly) and had nooo idea what it was.

To me it sounded like hyenas laughing . I thought it was some type of coyote or fox

Lmao i just heard this right now up at camp and I dead ass sat up and yelled is that a monkey?!?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

We have some in our neighborhood. I love listening to them at night.🥰

Heard these for the first time in Iowa. They're down the street but my dog was going nuts. Your video sounds like there's a baby in that tree 😂

While camping I heard this almost every night. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Finally figured out what this sound was!

When I heard that for the first time when I was younger, I thought they were actual monkeys. My cat had the funniest face hearing one hoot outside my living room window.

We have had a pair that have nested in a hollow tree across the street behind a neighbor's house for about 5 years. they sit on his deck railing and carry on like this. They also like a large poplar in my back yard. Last week the got on my upper deck railing and went on like this for 15 minutes. The nest tree will soon fall and we have constructed a large nesting box that we need to get up in a tree soon, as they choose a nest site in the fall.

Alpharetta Georgia. I heard these outside and i thought a bunch a monkeys escaped the Atlanta Zoo and decided to stir up trouble at 2 am 😂

I love stargazing and almost ALWAYS hear these fellas out making noise. Sometimes it sounds like a whole band of monkeys 😂 Ive even seen one while hiking. Very beautiful and fun birds ❤

I heard this kind of "hootnanny" this morning around 5-5:30 a.m. Have seen large groups of barred owls in my yard through the years.

I HEARD THIS OUTSIDE MY HOUSE AND WAS SO SCARED LMAOOO

Gotta love the Barred Owl and their goofy noises. I sponsor one at a local nature center and I can't wait for breeding season to come around and hear him get more vocal then.

it is mating season, awesome job on the audio.

I just used your clip to make a Barred Owlet turn around for a few photos

I finally found out the name of the Owls I've been hearing in my neighborhood When you first hear these Sounds late at night it's kind of scary not knowing what it is That's making such weird noises 😂

The tweakers in my neighborhood think this owl is actually an escaped pet monkey and they make monkey noises at it

Through a series of events, my family wound up sleeping in tents in our backyard for a month several years ago, and that's when we first heard these owls. We didn't know what was making the sound, but I did some research and discovered it was owls. We have a pair doing this right outside my window at this very moment. Beautiful birds, but I agree with everyone else in that it can be quite spooky or eerie if you don't know what it is.

This recording is tame, the caterwaul part can get so much... MORE

I literally just heard them and I was like um when did monkeys move in here. But now that I know what it is I've seen them during the day time.

Supposedly the cackling sounds are a territorial display, the waahooo sound is like a broadcast sound

LOL It sounds like u live in the middle of a zoo.

I hang my Jungle Hammock in Florida's swamps and have Owls sounding off just about every night when I'm out camping. One night I was peacefully sleeping when two of them got into an argument in the tree I was hanging from. Just when I thought they were discussing that funny thing hanging between the two trees ( My hammock & me ) a third one chimed in. He or she was in the other tree. That keep up for quite a while and then things finally quieted down. Just before day light one right above me started complaining that I was still there or it sure sounded like that was the case. One off in the distance answered but never came over. I consider a trip , no matter how good it is , a loss if I don't hear an Owl , that trip was the best , ever.

this is our yard neighborhood Every Night. Southern Leon County in the Wakulla Springs area, just beautiful. so far we have a family of 3 nightly hunting in the front yard

I USED to hear mating pairs frequently until a new human neighbor moved in with a flock of doves and fake owl scare-off statues. A year later and the raptors keep taking slow revenge leaving dove feathers in our (safe feeding area) yard lol!

We were way down on the river one night when 5 of these started screaming my buddy started throwing hot lanterns in the truck and said let’s get the hell out of here.

Just heard this outside of my house. I was wondering what it was. I've seen owls around but this was a first hearing them make this noise. Pretty cool!

I went camping some place new and heard this and had no idea what it was till I started looking online. I had never heard owls like this before. Its awesome!

Bro I heard this shit while camping and I thought it was coyotes around my camp

Yup had two at 5:30 am this morning making these same sounds ...I've seen the Barred owls here before...and now I'm hearing them loudly early in the morning hours....

Had a pair sitting on my fence doing this. Love our barred owls.

I’m camping rn and it’s 3:am and all I hear is this exact noise 😂

I just used this video playing over a Bluetooth speaker to call the Bards that live on my property and the surrounding area , and it totally worked. Thank you for this video because my whole 15 acres sounds like a psychotic monkey fight is about to happen in front of my face.

Literally here because I was like "Theres no way theres a squad of monkeys outside my missouri window right now"

I've been telling my family I heard what sounded like monkeys last night and it was alongside owls hooting and sounded up in the trees but I did not know what it was and had never heard it out where I live before. Glad to know what it was!

I thought I was hearing a damn monkey outside my window at 1 am 🤣.

BRO I LITERALLY THOUGHT A MONKEY WAS IN MY YARD I WAS LIKE WHO HAS A PET MONKEY ON THE LOOSE

When I heard this in my yard the first time I was stunned as to wtf was doing that

it scares the shit out of you when you hear it for the first time