The Barn Owl

With an estimated population worldwide of 5million, the Barn Owl, Tyto alba, is one of the most common of all birds of prey. Rarely seen during the day, the night time hunter is more likely to observed and heard during dusk.

The Barn owl is probably one of the most recognisable of the owl family, although there are some slightly differing features depending upon which one of the 30 subspecies of the bird is being observed. Female Barn Owls are slightly larger than the male, as is the case with many raptors.

Barn Owl hunting at Dusk - Edd deane - CC-BY-SA-2.0

Female Barn Owls may be as much 40cm tall, with a wingspan of 100cm. The wings of the Barn Owl are impressive and the owl has evolved in such a way that it is more likely to be seen gliding than flying, and requires very little flapping of its wings to remain in the air.

In general Barn Owls are identified by a brown or buff body and wings, the wings often have lighter tan or grey tips. It is though the white face that makes it look like a ghoul, or an angel, depending upon your point of view. The white is normally in the shape of a heart which is offset by deep black but small eyes.

The Barn Owl does emit a long screech, rather than a normal owl hoot, and gives rise to one of the owl’s other names, the Screech Owl. The sound of a Barn Owl when walking through a dark countryside is enough to make most people jump out of their skins.

As previously mentioned there are some 30 subspecies of Barn Owl, located all around the world, with their own features. These subspecies are found on all continents other than Antarctica, and are primarily found in temperate and tropical regions of the world, although they avoid the hottest desert regions. There preferred habitat is light woodland areas with open areas nearby, particularly open farm land.

Barn Owls will find places to roost in tall trees, although they also have an eye for man made roosting places, like church steeples and barns, hence their name. Barn Owls were for countless generations considered the farmer’s friend, and farmers would entice Barn Owls to roost in their barns, well aware that the owls would help control rodent populations.

Barn Owl with Prey - Edd deane - CC-BY-SA-2.0

The Barn Owl will feed primarily upon rats and mice, although other small animals, such as rabbits and moles need to be aware during the night. It is quite possible to see a Barn Owl skimming over an open field at dusk in search of its prey, and in a normal night a Barn Owl will need to catch three or four rodents to be well fed. Hunting though is done primarily by sound rather than by sight. The evidence of a well fed Barn Owl though will come in the hours of daylight when shiny black pellets will be found. These pellets can be up to 5cm in length, and are the bones, fur and other indigestible bits of their meals.

Barn Owls are well known for being monogamous, but the mating ritual is something to behold. Male Barn Owls will put on a flying display for the potential mate, before acquiring a meal to seal the deal. Like most raptors, barn Owls do not go in for the building of intricate nests, and will make a simple twig one in a crevice, or make use of a pre-existing one.

The female Barn Owl will then lay an average of six eggs sequentially, with incubation starting immediately. The first eggs is normally laid at the end of March, although the breeding season may last through until October. The incubation period lasts for between four and five weeks, although as with other raptors the number of eggs actually hatched depends often on the availability of food. The earliest hatched eggs are the strongest and will get the majority of food that the male Barn Owl brings for his family. It takes only two weeks for the hatchling to be relatively self sufficient and will be mature enough to leave the nest after ten or twelve weeks.

The population of the Barn Owl has fluctuated over the years, although the overall decline of the past fifty years seems to have been reversed in more recent yeas. The main threat to the Barn Owl, as with most birds, comes from man, and in particular the changing face of farming. Farms have increasingly made use of chemicals to control pests, depriving the Barn Owl of its main source of food. Most farmers though do recognise the beneficial nature of the bird, and so many have started to give them a helping hand, reducing pesticide usage, and also cutting down on the removal of old building and other potential nesting sites.

Today the Barn Owl is classed as of being Low Concern, mainly due to the large numbers, and widespread nature of the bird. It is there probable that future generations will get to experience the Barn Owl in the wild, and be scared stiff when one screeches in your ear.

Copyright - First Published 19th March 2010