After this article was published, there has been a name change from Barn Owl to American Barn Owl by The American Ornithological Society’s (AOS) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of North and Middle American Birds (a.k.a. NACC.
Adult Barn Owl, Image by Daniel Lee Brown
This month, let’s learn some facts about the Barn Owl. You may not ever have seen a Barn Owl because they are nocturnal birds (awake and active at night). Barn Owls live here in the Sacramento Valley and are one of the most widespread species of birds in the world! Although Barn Owls aren’t considered to be a migratory species, young owls do travel long distances to find their own home after they learn to fly and hunt. You won't hear them flying overhead because their flight is totally silent! Barn Owls have exceptional hearing and also have excellent nighttime vision. Because their eyes can't move like ours can, they have to turn their heads in order to look around. Barn Owls can turn their heads around really far!
What do Barn Owls Look Like?
Barn Owls have rounded wings, squared-off and short tails, and long legs. They are around 14-20 inches in length and their wingspan is about 4 feet. Female Barn Owls are larger than male Barn Owls.
Barn Owls have a white face, chest, and belly. They have dark eyes, long toes, sharp talons (claws), and lightly-colored feathered legs. Barn Owls have reddish-brown, golden-brown, or gray color pattern on their heads, backs, and upper wings. There are scattered small spots over these areas. Even though Barn Owls have beautifully colored feathers, they often appear to be entirely white when seen flying at night. This is probably because of their light underwing color and their white faces and chests.
Adult Barn Owl roosting in a nest box, Image by Jane Van Kessel
The faces of Barn Owls are curved inward. This specific facial structure is called a facial disc. Barn Owls have short, stiff feathers that outline their face in the shape of a heart.
It’s difficult to tell females and males apart; but if you get a close look, female Barn Owls usually have several dark spots on their chests. Males usually have pure white chests (or just a few spots). Females may also have darker feathers outlining their faces and can have darker tails too.
Where do Barn Owls Live?
Barn Owls can live in a vast range of habitats but usually live at low elevations. They do not survive in extreme cold regions. Barn Owls fly at night over grasslands, deserts, marshes, and agricultural fields where they hunt for food. They nest and roost (rest) in hollow trees, inside holes in cliffs or riverbanks, in old barns, in church steeples, and in hay stacks. Barn Owls look for a hole or covered platform to roost and lay eggs in. They will ‘gladly’ use nest boxes when available. It is very important for Barn Owls to have a place that will keep them dry! If they become wet, they are no longer silent fliers. In order for Barn Owls to be successful at hunting and to eat their meals, their feathers need to be dry.
Adult Barn Owl, Image by Jane Van Kessel
Barn Owls usually reuse old nests that have been used for many years rather than build new ones. On average, females lay 4 to 7 eggs. Each egg is laid about 2 to 3 days apart. The male Barn Owl brings food to the female while she incubates the eggs (sits on and keeps the eggs warm). After hatching, the male brings food to the mother and babies for several weeks. Both parents will hunt and bring food to the nest after the babies grow larger. Young Barn Owls start flying 50 to 70 days after hatching. The parents then begin to teach the young owls how to hunt. Around 3 to 5 weeks after learning to fly, the young owls individually leave to find their own places to live.
What do Barn Owls Eat?
Small mammal species that are active at night make up most of the Barn Owl’s diet. These include mice, rats, voles, and rabbits. Barn Owls will occasionally prey on small birds as well.
Adult owls, in general, eat their prey whole. Owls, however, can not digest fur, feathers, and bones. So you may find what’s called an owl pellet on the ground that an owl has coughed up. Owl pellets look like furry, oval clumps on the ground.
Even though Barn Owls have great nighttime vision, it’s their excellent hearing that makes it possible for them to locate prey in total darkness! Barn Owls can both hear and locate prey easily in darkness because of two factors: the curved dish-like structure of their facial discs and because their ears are not located straight across from each other. This uneven ear location actually helps them hear better! The ears on Barn Owls are hidden on the sides of their heads. The left ear is located above eye level and the right ear is below eye level. There are other species of owls that have the same interesting anatomy.
What do Barn Owls Sound Like?
If you are trying to listen for Barn Owls at night, don't listen for typical owl-like hoot sounds. Barn Owls don’t make hoot sounds! Instead, their sounds have been described as shrieks, screams, yells, screeches, hisses, clicks, purrs, and snoring sounds!
These sounds of the Barn Owl are from xeno-canto. More Barn Owl vocalizations can be found at xeno-canto.org/species/Tyto-furcata.