Barn Owls
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - One of the world's most widely occurring owl species.
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Mailing Address:
Molly Royal
P.O. Box 2697
San Marcos, CA 92079
Molly Royal
P.O. Box 2697
San Marcos, CA 92079
More About Barn Owls
The ghostly, pale shape of the Barn Owl, most often seen as it hunts silently over fields at dusk, has excited much fear and suspicion among country-dwellers in the past, especially when the bird has uttered its typical rasping shriek-- a sound to make the blood run cold in the semi-darkness. But in truth this bird poses no threat to humankind. Instead it is a ruthless and efficient hunter of small mammals, such as rats, mice, and shrews, often doing a farmer a considerable service by nesting in an outbuilding or barn and keeping mammal numbers down.
Description
Size: 13-17 inches (33-35 cm)
Weight: 10-21oz (275-600g)
Migration: Nonmigrant
Habitat: Farmland, Marshes, Prairie and Desert
Population: Fairly Common Resident, Although Numbers Have Decreased In Recent Years.
Interesting Fact: Barn Owls have the keenest sense of hearing of any bird in the world.
The Barn Owl looks unlike other owls, it has a peculiar heart-shaped face and small, black eyes. The arrangement reflects how it uses its senses. The eyes are of secondary importance in hunting prey; it is the ears that are used primarily. Its round face helps to amplify sounds, while the silent flight, typical of all owls, keeps background noise to a minimum. The ears are not symmetrical on the head, the left side is higher on the skull than the right. This means that sound traveling from below or above will arrive at one ear before the other, and this delay helps the owl to distinguish which direction the sound is coming from. The Barn Owl has three-dimensional hearing. It can catch food in complete and total darkness.
Selecting A Mate
Barn Owls are not just in barns, but also can be found in churches and other buildings, including natural sites such as caves and tree-holes. There is no real "nest", the female just lays the 4-7 eggs right on the floor, usually among old owl pellets. The owlets hatch out after about 30 days, and then it will be another 3 months or more before they are independent. Recent research has shown that males prefer to breed with females with plenty of spots on their thighs, a unique feature that seems to reflect a birds health.