Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Least ConcernFast Facts
About
The barn owl is a ghostly, pale predator with a distinctive heart-shaped facial disc and golden-buff upperparts. Found on almost every continent, it is one of the most widespread of all land birds.
Its soft-edged feathers allow it to fly in near silence, giving it a decisive advantage when hunting the small mammals that make up the bulk of its diet. It often nests in barns, church towers and hollow trees.
Behaviour
Barn owls hunt by quartering low over rough grassland, using exceptional hearing to pinpoint prey hidden in vegetation or beneath snow. The asymmetrical set of their ears allows them to locate sounds with pinpoint precision.
Rather than hooting, barn owls produce an eerie, drawn-out screech, earning them the old country name of 'screech owl'.
Did you know?
- A barn owl's facial disc funnels sound to its ears, letting it hunt in total darkness
- Its left and right ears are set at different heights to help pinpoint prey
- A hunting barn owl can catch several thousand rodents in a single year
- Barn owls swallow prey whole and cough up the bones and fur as compact pellets
Distribution
Almost worldwide, absent only from polar and desert regions and some islands
