Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Description
18" (46 cm). W. 3' 8" (1.1 m).
Crow-sized. Buff-brown above and white below, with heart-shaped face
and numerous fine dark dots on white underparts; dark eyes, long
legs.
Voice
Hissing notes, screams, guttural grunts,
and bill snapping. Young give rapid grackle-like clicks.
Habitat
Open country, forest edges and clearings,
cultivated areas, and cities.
Nesting
5-10 white eggs on bare wood or stone in
buildings, hollow trees, caves, or even in burrows.
Range
Resident from southern British Columbia,
Dakotas, Michigan, and southern New England southward. Also in South
America and Old World.
Discussion
This nocturnal ghost of a bird
frequents such places as belfries, deserted buildings, and hollow
trees. It hunts its food-almost entirely rodents-in garbage dumps,
neglected cemeteries, run-down farms, and empty lots in large
cities. In the glare of auto headlights, a flying Barn Owl looks
snow white and so is often mistaken for a Snowy Owl. Barn Owls are
effective mousers and take many rats. Owls do not digest fur and
bone but periodically rid themselves of these in the form of
regurgitated pellets. Barn Owl pellets are easily collected from
roosts and can be a useful source of information about the small
mammals in an area. Contrary to popular belief, owls see well by
day, but their large eyes do give them especially good night vision.
Experiments have shown, however, that Barn Owls depend on keen
hearing to locate their prey. These owls appear to practice birth
control: When food is scarce they lay fewer eggs or may not breed at
all.
