Barred Owl - Strix varia

After a day of exploration we were returning to the cabin along a little traveled back road through New Portland, Maine when a large dark streak swooped down the roadway ahead of us and off to the side into the trees.
We pulled to a stop quickly and peered through the branches to see the back of a beautiful Barred owl.
As we eased back a few feet for a better angle of view, it turned and stared back at us.

I scarcely got the camera out when he flew back down the road. As quickly as possible we got into position again but he only posed for one last photo before heading off into the dusk.
The Barred Owl is a medium-sized gray-brown Owl streaked with white horizontal barring on the chest and vertical barring on the belly. They are round-headed with a whitish/brown facial disk with dark brown trim. The eyes are brown, and the beak is yellow and almost covered by feathers. They have a long tail. There is no difference in plumage between males and the larger females.

The Barred Owl is highly vocal giving a loud and resounding "hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ooo" frequentely suggested to query "Who, cooks, for-you? Who, cooks, for-you, all?" - The last syllable drops off noticeably. Like some other Owl species, they will call in the daytime as well as at night.