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    Widely Distributed Owl

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    Anonymous 9LHcz6F0if
    The barn owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, found almost everywhere except polar, desert, and some Pacific island regions. There are at least three major lineages of barn owls across Eurasia/Africa, Australasia, and the New World. Barn owls range in size from 33-39 cm long with 80-95 cm wingspans across their approximately 28 subspecies. They have mottled grey or brown plumage and hunt small mammals at night, locating prey by sound with their acute hearing. Barn owls mate for life but may re-pair if one dies, laying around four eggs per clutch in tree hollows, buildings, or cliffs.

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    Widely Distributed Owl

    Uploaded by

    Anonymous 9LHcz6F0if
    23 views1 page
    The barn owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, found almost everywhere except polar, desert, and some Pacific island regions. There are at least three major lineages of barn owls across Eurasia/Africa, Australasia, and the New World. Barn owls range in size from 33-39 cm long with 80-95 cm wingspans across their approximately 28 subspecies. They have mottled grey or brown plumage and hunt small mammals at night, locating prey by sound with their acute hearing. Barn owls mate for life but may re-pair if one dies, laying around four eggs per clutch in tree hollows, buildings, or cliffs.

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    barn owl

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    Barn owl

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    The barn owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, found almost everywhere except polar, desert, and some Pacific island regions. There are at least three major lineages of barn owls across Eurasia/Africa, Australasia, and the New World. Barn owls range in size from 33-39 cm long with 80-95 cm wingspans across their approximately 28 subspecies. They have mottled grey or brown plumage and hunt small mammals at night, locating prey by sound with their acute hearing. Barn owls mate for life but may re-pair if one dies, laying around four eggs per clutch in tree hollows, buildings, or cliffs.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views1 page

    Widely Distributed Owl

    Uploaded by

    Anonymous 9LHcz6F0if
    The barn owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, found almost everywhere except polar, desert, and some Pacific island regions. There are at least three major lineages of barn owls across Eurasia/Africa, Australasia, and the New World. Barn owls range in size from 33-39 cm long with 80-95 cm wingspans across their approximately 28 subspecies. They have mottled grey or brown plumage and hunt small mammals at night, locating prey by sound with their acute hearing. Barn owls mate for life but may re-pair if one dies, laying around four eggs per clutch in tree hollows, buildings, or cliffs.

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    The barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most

    widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as the common barn owl, to distinguish it from
    other species in its family, Tytonidae, which forms one of the two main lineages of living
    owls, the other being the typical owls (Strigidae). The barn owl is found almost everywhere in
    the world except polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas, most of Indonesia,
    and somePacific islands.[2]
    Phylogenetic evidence shows that there are at least three major lineages of barn owl, one in
    Eurasia and Africa, one in Australasia and one in the New World, and some highly
    divergent taxa on islands. Some authorities further split the group, recognising up to five
    species, and further research needs to be done to clarify the position. There is a
    considerable variation between the sizes and colour of the approximately 28 subspecies but
    most are between 33 and 39 cm (13 and 15 in) in length with wingspans ranging from 80 to
    95 cm (31 to 37 in). The plumage on head and back is a mottled shade of grey or brown, the
    underparts vary from white to brown and are sometimes speckled with dark markings. The
    face is characteristically heart-shaped and is white in most species. This owl does not hoot,
    but utters an eerie, drawn-out shriek.
    The barn owl is nocturnal over most of its range, but in Britain and some Pacific islands, it
    also hunts by day. Barn owls specialise in hunting animals on the ground and nearly all of
    their food consists of small mammals which they locate by sound, their hearing being very
    acute. They mate for life unless one of the pair gets killed, when a new pair bond may be
    formed. Breeding takes place at varying times of year according to locality, with a clutch,
    averaging about four eggs, being laid in a nest in a hollow tree, old building or fissure in a
    cliff. The female does all the incubation, and she and the young chicks are reliant on the
    male for food. When large numbers of small prey are readily available, barn owl populations
    can expand rapidly, and globally the bird is considered to be of least conservation concern.
    Some subspecies with restricted ranges are more threatened.

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