Binghamton Zoo Animals

Barn Owl

(lTyto alba)
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Tytonidae
Genus: Tyto
Species: alba

HABITAT AND RANGE: Barn owls are the most widespread of all owl species, and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Barn owls occupy a majority of different habitats from rural to urban, often found at low elevations in open habitats, such as grasslands, deserts, marshes and agricultural fields.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Barn owls are medium-sized, 15-20inches in height, with long legs, dark eyes, and a white heart shaped face. The head is large and rounded without ear tufts. Barn owls have rounded wings and a short tail that is covered with white or light brown, downy feathers. The back and head of the bird are a light brown with some black and white spots, while the underside is a grayish white with spots.

ADAPTATIONS: The Barn Owl is one of the few bird species with the female showier than the male. The female has a more reddish chest that is more heavily spotted. The spots may signal to a potential mate the quality of the female. Heavily spotted females get fewer parasitic flies and may be more resistant to parasites and diseases. The Barn Owl has many different calls, the usual call being a drawn-out rasping screech. The courtship call of male at nest is a shrill repetitive twittering. Adults returning to a nest may give a low, frog-like croak. When surprised in its roosting hollow or nest, it makes hissing and rasping noises and snapping sounds that are often called bill snapping, but possibly made by clicking the tongue.

DIET: Barn owls are nocturnal predators that prefer small mammals like mice, rats, voles, rabbits, and small birds. Barn Owls have developed highly sensitive low-light vision and in darkness it relies on its acute hearing to capture prey. Barn owls are the most accurate birds at locating prey by sound. Another trait that adds to their hunting success is their downy feathers, which help to muffle the sound of their movement. An owl can approach its prey virtually undetected. Barn owls capture the prey with their feet, nip through the back of the skull with the bill, and then swallow the prey whole.

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Barn Owl’s courtship begins with display flights by males which are accompanied by advertising calls and chasing the female. Both the male and the female will screech during the chase. The male will also hover with feet dangling in front of the perched female for several seconds; these are known as moth flights. Eventually, they will mate every few minutes while searching for a nesting site only once a year. Barn owl pairs often use an old nest that has been occupied for decades rather than building a new one. Barn Owls like to nest in a barn, tree hollow, cave, or pipes where there is little light. The female usually lines the nest with shredded pellets. She can lay 2 to 18 eggs, but normally 4 to 7, at a rate of one egg every 2 to 3 days. The female incubates the eggs for 29 to 34 days. They leave the nest on their first flight 50 to 70 days after hatching, but return to the nest to roost for 7 to 8 weeks. The chicks usually become independent from the parents 3 to 5 weeks after they begin flying. In the wild Barn Owls will live 1 to 2 years.

STATUS IN WILD: Barn owls are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. They are not federally threatened or endangered in the United States, but they are protected in some individual U.S. states--including Michigan, where they are considered endangered. Threats to barn owl population include climatic changes, because they do not store extra fat on their bodies for the winter, as the winter gets colder and longer the owls can not last. The other threats to this owl and many others are pesticides and changing agricultural techniques.