Convervation status: Amber

1 video

Latin name

Tyto alba

Family

Owls (Tytonidae)

Overview

With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK, and indeed the world, this bird has suffered declines through the 20th century and is thought to have been adversely affected by organochlorine pesticides such as DDT in the 1950s and '60s. Nocturnal birds like the barn owl are poorly monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey and, subject to this caveat, numbers may have increased between 1995-2008.

Where to see them

Open country, along field edges, riverbanks and roadside verges.

When to see them

All year round; during the day, but best at dusk.

What they eat

Mice, voles and shrews

Estimated numbers

* UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

Distribution

Worldwide

Cosmopolitan

Please note that the map is only intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Audio is from commercial recordings Bird Songs and Calls of Britain and Europe on 4 CDs or Bird Sounds of Europe & North-west Africa, copyright WildSounds & CEBA (www.wildsounds.com, (UK) +44 (0) 1263 741100)

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Barn owl perching

Barn owl

Similar birds

Short-eared owl