Species Information: Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Family: Tytonidae
FACT #1 The Barn Owl Is Almost Silent When It Flys
If you’re ever lucky enough to stroke a Barn Owl, you will immediately notice how soft their feathers are. These soft feathers are the reason that their flight is so quiet!
But there is a downside to having soft feathers, they are also not very waterproof. For this reason, Barn Owls don’t like the rain so much, and prolonged periods of heavy rain can significantly impact their ability to hunt and feed.
FACT #2 Males & Females Look Almost Identical
Male & Female Barn Owls look almost identical to each other. But you can tell them apart if you look closely. Males are generally lighter in color than females, including on their underparts which are often pure white. Females typically have darker feathers, with dark-brown feathers forming a facial disc, small black spots on their chests, and dark bars on their tails.
FACT #3 The Barn Owl Has Long Legs
Barn Owl legs look almost disproportionate to their bodies when you see them in flight. But they need long legs and talons for a good reason; it helps them snatch prey from long grass.
FACT #4 Barn Owl Ears Are Asymmetrical
Barn Owls have evolved to have lop-sided ears to help them pinpoint prey. You can’t see their ears, as their heads are covered in feathers; but if you could you would see that one ear is higher than the other.
FACT #5 They have particularly ugly nestlings
There is no doubt at all that adult barn owls are one of the most beautiful birds on the planet. The same can’t be said though of their nestlings, they certainly won’t win any beauty competitions!
FACT #6 Their Preferred Food Is Yummy Rodents
Their diet consists primarily of rodents such as voles, mice & shrews. But they will also eat spiders, earthworms, snails, small birds, and even fish.
FACT #7 Barn Owls Normally Hunt At Night
They can even hunt in complete darkness by supplementing their vision with their super-sensitive hearing.
FACT #8 But They Also Hunt In The Day!
You might also spot them hunting during the day, particularly when they have hungry nestlings to feed.
FACT #9 Moths Make For A Tasty Snack
Barn Owls sometimes use their acute night vision and hearing to catch and eat moths in flight.
FACT #10 Farmers Like The Barn Owl
An adult Barn Owl can consume 4 small mammals every night. This adds up to 1,460 a year. For this reason, Barn Owls are known as farmers’ friends, as they protect crops by preventing the population of rodents from expanding too much.
FACT #11 The Barn Owl Regurgitates Indigestible Food
Typically, a Barn Owl swallows its food with all the indigestible bits included. Later on, they regurgitate fir and bones back through the mouth as an owl pellet. If you ever find one of these, you can dissect the pellet to get an idea of what the owl has been eating.
FACT#12 Barn Owls Can Be Found Around The Globe
Barn Owls can be found on every single continent, except Antarctica, which makes them one of the most widespread birds on the planet.
FACT #13 Females Are Bigger Than Males.
Female Barn Owls are larger than Males. A female can weigh up to 435g whereas a male weighs up to 360g. This is a typical trait of raptors and is primarily due to the female being more efficient at hunting than the male.
FACT #14 The Barn Owl Hates The Cold!
Barn owls might look like they have warm feather coats on, but they hate the cold and will migrate short distances during the winter to avoid chillier weather.
FACT #15 They Don’t Exclusively Nest In Barns
As their name suggests, Barn Owls are synonymous with nesting in barns. But the species has been around long before barns were invented, and therefore, unsurprisingly, they will also nest in tree holes and on rocky outcrops.
FACT #16 They Could Have Been Named Something Completely Different!
Staying with the same theme, in the East of England you are much more likely to see Barn Owls nesting in trees than you are in barns.
FACT #17 The Barn Owl loves a well-located nest box.
So much so, that putting nest boxes up is a great way to increase Barn Owl populations in areas that don’t have suitable nest sites.
FACT #18 They Don’t Construct Nests
Unlike most other birds, the Barn Owl doesn’t build a nest. As long as there is some form of hollow so that their eggs don’t roll away, then everything is good to go.
FACT #19 Barn Owls Screech
Contrary to urban myth, Barn Owls communicate in screeches they never hoot. It’s the Tawny Owl that hoots!
FACT #20 Populations appear to be increasing in the British Isles
Up until 1995, Barn Owl populations steadily decreased in the British Isles due to habitat loss leading them to be amber-listed as a threatened species. Since then, populations have increased again by an estimated 200% leading to a reclassification of the species to green-listed.
References
- Elder, C. (2018) The everyday guide to British birds. London, England: Bloomsbury. [Accessed 08/03/2025]
