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Photo: G. Bradley |
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UK
Safari Tip:
One clue which can give away the location of a barn owl are the numbers of
discarded grey food pellets which accumulate beneath roost sites - click
here
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Latin name: Tyto alba
Size: Approximately 32 to 34cms.
Distribution: Found in most parts of the UK except the north of Scotland.
Months seen: All year.
Habitat: Farmland - hunts along the edges of fields.
Food: Mostly eats mice and voles.
Special features: The barn owl can be easily recognised by its light
coloured plumage which is white on its front, and orange-brown on its back
with ash grey coloured specks. It has a heart shaped disc of feathers around
its face.
The barn owl is a nocturnal hunter, and when you see it flying at night it
appears to be all white. This appearance coupled with its eerie screeching
call may account for many ghost stories, as it is sometimes seen hunting for mice
in graveyards.
Hear a Barn Owl Screech
• Click here for the MP3 - 84 KB
• Click here for the WAV -
225 KB
The Barn Owl has such sensitive hearing it is able to exactly locate a field
mouse rustling through straw in a pitch dark barn.
It can do this because its ears are located at different positions on the
sides of its head. One is at the height of its forehead, and the other is
level with its nostril.
Barn Owls do not build nests themselves. Instead they rely on a variety of
nesting sites for laying their eggs, such as tree cavities, rock ledges, and
ledges in barns. Barn Owls have also been known to nest in burrows in
riverbanks.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Romans associated the barn owl with death. They believed that if one
landed on the roof of a house, someone inside was going to die!
UK Safari Bird Section
See More Barn Owl Photos
Barn Owl Wallpaper
 Understanding
Owls: Biology Management Breeding Training (Jemima Parry-Jones)
A guide to caring for owls, covering topics such as: biology; taxonomy; housing;
equipment; incubation; rearing; and training and flying owls.
 The Really Useful Owl Guide
( Jemima Parry-Jones)
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