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Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Family: Owls (Tytonidae)
Size: L 16-19" (40-48 cm); WS 3-3 1⁄2' (.9-1.1 m)
Weight: 1-1 1⁄4 lb. (.5-.6 kg)
Male: A non-eared owl. Rusty tan on the back of head, back, wings and tail. Heart-shaped white facial disk, outlined in darker rusty brown. White breast and belly with many scattered tiny dark marks. Dark eyes. Long gray legs and gray feet. Ivory bill. White wing linings.
Female: slightly larger than male, with a rusty wash over a spotted breast and belly
Juvenile: fuzzy-looking with light gray-to-white plumage and a distinct heart-shaped face
Habitat: farm fields, woods, cliffs, semi-wooded areas, suburban areas, prairies
Food: mice and other small animals, birds, snakes
Sounds: harsh hissing any time of year; female call is more quiet than the male; juvenile call is hoarser
Compare: Easily identified by the white heart-shaped facial disk and dark eyes. The Snowy Owl (pg. 233) is much larger, has white plumage and lacks a heart-shaped face. Slightly larger than Short-eared Owl (pg. 213), which has a streaked chest and belly, dark marks around each eye and a less defined facial disk.
Flight: long broad wings, rounded at the tip and cupped or bowed downward during flight; slow, shallow wing beats with silent flight
Migration: non-migrator to partial; will congregate in groups during winter
Nesting: cavity, in a man-made structure such as a barn, other outbuilding or wooden nest box, occasionally in a tree cavity, cliff crevice or small cave; 1 brood
Eggs/Incubation: 3-7 white eggs; female incubates 30-34 days; male does the most hunting and feeds the nesting female before and after the young hatch
Fledging: 52-56 days; male and female feed young; male does the majority of hunting and brings food to the female, who feeds the chicks; upon leaving the nest (fledging), the young continue to beg for food, at first waiting for the parents to bring food, then following them around to be fed; chicks learn to hunt by watching and copying their parents’ behavior, staying with them until the adults prepare for nesting again
Stan’s Notes: Well known for nesting in old barns, but also nests in any dark cavity in trees or on cliffs. Readily takes to wooden nest boxes erected by people. Hunts by coursing over open areas after dark, looking and listening for small animals. Employs eyesight mainly, but can hunt in total darkness using its hearing alone. Will sway back and forth with head lowered when confronted.
A good friend to farmers. One study showed that over the average 10-year life span of a typical Barn Owl, a single owl will consume approximately 11,000 mice. Based on the amount of food a mouse eats in a day, each year Barn Owls prevent roughly 13 tons of grain and crops from being eaten by mice.
Monogamous and believed to mate for life, with pairs using the same nesting cavity for many years, sometimes for a century or more. Clutch size is dependent on the availability of prey–the more prey, the larger the clutch. The young hatch one per day (asynchronously) over two weeks, creating a range of ages within the nest. Families reside at the same nesting site for generations.
