Barn Owl Sitting Pretty
After having given a hunting demonstration in the large natural chalkland meadow at the Hawk Conservancy near Andover, the bird is seen above perched on a barn's half-door, with the building's unlit interior creating the black backdrop.
A pale, long-winged, long-legged owl, 33–39 cm in length with an 80–95 cm wingspan. Its head and upper parts are buff, and the underparts are white. The face is heart-shaped. It has an effortless wavering flight as it quarters pastures or similar hunting grounds.
Alternative names often refer to the appearance, white underparts, or eerie, silent flight, including Monkey-faced Owl, Ghost Owl, Church Owl, Golden Owl, Rat Owl and Stone Owl. It has a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range and can also hiss like snakes. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence.
Contrary to popular belief, they do not make the call "tu-whit to-whoo" (which is made by the Tawny Owl). Barn Owls occur worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. They are absent from large areas of Asia, the Sahara Desert and New Zealand.
These are birds of open country such as farmland, preferring to hunt along the edges of woods, feeding mostly on rodents. Each one may consume 1-7 rodents per night; a nesting pair and their young can eat thousands of rodents per year. The Barn Owl flies silently. Its ears are placed asymmetrically for maximum hearing, so the owls do not require sight to hunt. They can target and dive down to sink their talons through snow, grass or brush and seize rodents with deadly accuracy.
Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, they consume more rodent pests than possibly any other creature. This makes the Barn Owl one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals to farmers who find them more effective than poisons.
Predators of Barn Owls include opossums, raccoons, certain snakes, and other raptors such as hawks, eagles, and larger owls (including the Great Horned Owl and the Eurasian Eagle Owl). But their worst enemy is man, who has often killed them due to superstition, or ignorance of the bird's benefits. Barn Owls are relatively common throughout most of their range but are rare in Britain, with only some 4,400 breeding pairs.
Barn Owl Sitting Pretty
After having given a hunting demonstration in the large natural chalkland meadow at the Hawk Conservancy near Andover, the bird is seen above perched on a barn's half-door, with the building's unlit interior creating the black backdrop.
A pale, long-winged, long-legged owl, 33–39 cm in length with an 80–95 cm wingspan. Its head and upper parts are buff, and the underparts are white. The face is heart-shaped. It has an effortless wavering flight as it quarters pastures or similar hunting grounds.
Alternative names often refer to the appearance, white underparts, or eerie, silent flight, including Monkey-faced Owl, Ghost Owl, Church Owl, Golden Owl, Rat Owl and Stone Owl. It has a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range and can also hiss like snakes. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence.
Contrary to popular belief, they do not make the call "tu-whit to-whoo" (which is made by the Tawny Owl). Barn Owls occur worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. They are absent from large areas of Asia, the Sahara Desert and New Zealand.
These are birds of open country such as farmland, preferring to hunt along the edges of woods, feeding mostly on rodents. Each one may consume 1-7 rodents per night; a nesting pair and their young can eat thousands of rodents per year. The Barn Owl flies silently. Its ears are placed asymmetrically for maximum hearing, so the owls do not require sight to hunt. They can target and dive down to sink their talons through snow, grass or brush and seize rodents with deadly accuracy.
Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, they consume more rodent pests than possibly any other creature. This makes the Barn Owl one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals to farmers who find them more effective than poisons.
Predators of Barn Owls include opossums, raccoons, certain snakes, and other raptors such as hawks, eagles, and larger owls (including the Great Horned Owl and the Eurasian Eagle Owl). But their worst enemy is man, who has often killed them due to superstition, or ignorance of the bird's benefits. Barn Owls are relatively common throughout most of their range but are rare in Britain, with only some 4,400 breeding pairs.