Barn Owl — printable fact sheet

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Barn Owl

Tyto alba

The barn owl hunts by sound alone, and it can do it in total darkness. Its ear openings are asymmetrical, one set higher than the other, so a sound arriving from below reaches one ear a fraction before the other and a sound from above does the reverse. That tiny discrepancy give…

Classification

Bird

Family

Tytonidae

Habitat

Open countryside, grasslands, farmlands, and edges of woodlands

Diet

Carnivore

Conservation status

Least Concern

Lifespan

4-9 years in the wild

Weight

400-700 grams

Scientific name

Tyto alba

Did you know?

A single Barn Owl family can consume over 1,000 rodents in a single breeding season, making them invaluable for natural pest control.
Its ear openings sit at different heights, letting it locate prey in three dimensions by sound alone, in complete darkness. The heart-shaped face is a sound dish that funnels noise into those ears. Comb-like fringes on its feathers break up turbulence, making its flight almost silent — which also stops its own wingbeats masking the sounds it hunts by. It swallows prey whole and coughs the bones back up as pellets.

What I learned

Draw the barn owl

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