Habitat
Barn
owls prefer warm climates with mild winters. They often make their
homes in buildings, especially barns, near ample supplies of rodents
and other small prey. They also nest in tree cavities or in rock
cavities. |
Physical
Characteristics
The pale gold-brown barn owl stands approximately 14 inches (35 cm) tall. Females
weigh up to 24 ounces (670 gr), males up to 20 ounces (560 gr). Barn owls have
long wings and long, lightly-feathered legs. These owls are nocturnal hunters
and are equipped with eyes that have extra light-sensitive rods to enhance night
vision. They also have extremely acute hearing. Asymmetrical ears allow the bird
to use triangulation to locate its prey. Downy feathers and ridged primary feathers
muffle the sound of their flight, enabling them to swoop silently down upon unsuspecting
prey. |
Life
Span
Although they
have lived over 20 years in captivity, it is unusual for one to live
to be 10 years in the wild. |
Diet
In
the wild: Mice, voles and shrews are this owl's
primary prey, but it will rarely catch young rabbits, birds,
bats, frogs and large insects.
At
the zoo: Mice, small rats and crickets. |
Reproduction
Owls do not build their own nest; rather they take over nests of other
animals, such as squirrels or woodpeckers. Barn owls often prefer
tree cavities, belfries, barns or abandoned buildings for nests,
and seem to choose sites which have been occupied by other barn
owls in the past. These owls appear to mate for life, and will
not take another mate as long as their current mate lives. The
female lays a clutch of five to 11 chalky white, unmarked eggs
at two-day intervals. Eggs are incubated for 32-34 days. Eggs hatch
in sequence of laying, so a barn owl nest may contain young of
widely varying ages.
Life Cycle
The female spends most of her time at the nest, while the
male helps feed and guard the young. After about 60 days, young become
fully fledged and are able to leave the nest and hunt for themselves.
Northern populations of barn owls have been observed flying south to
winter. Living mostly solitary lifestyles, barn owls may gather in
groups at favorite roosting points. While migrating, up to 50 barn
owls have been observed roosting together at one time. Barn owls are
occasionally preyed upon by great horned owls, and less frequently
by prairie falcons and other diurnal raptors.
Who Gives
a Hoot?
For most people, a series of hoots”comes to mind when thinking
about the call of an owl. Although this may be true for most species of owls,
the barn owl's call is anything but a hoot. Instead, during the night
a person might hear overhead a barn owl’'s drawn-out screeches and raspy
hisses. Barn owls even have chuckling noises, purrs and twittering sounds in
their vocabulary.
Barn owls, as well as other members of the family Tytonidae, have several visible
anatomical differences from other typical owls. Barn owls have longer, lightly
feathered legs and wings, smaller eyes (which are not yellow like some typical
owls), no ear tufts and a middle toe with a serrated edge, which is used for
feather care.
|
Fascinating
Facts
- Barn owls
are better than cats at controlling rodent pests. A family
of barn owls can kill about 1,300 rats a year!
- The
disk shaped face of owls collects and concentrates sounds
in the bird's ears, so the owl can precisely gauge
the direction and distance of hidden prey.
- Barn owls,
like most birds that nest in cavities, lay white eggs since
there is no need for camouflage!
- Unlike other
raptors that carry prey in their talons and rip it apart
before eating, owls often carry their prey with their bill
and often swallow their prey whole. Bones, fur and other
indigestible items are regurgitated as pellets!
|
Owls can
be seen in the zoo's Temperate Forest bioclimatic zone; a barn owl
at the Family Farm and a great gra owl adjacent to Bug World.
Birds that can be viewed at the zoo's Raptor Center include the bald
eagle, gyrfalcon, Harris's hawk, turkey vulture as well as great
horned, spectacled and barred owls. The zoo's Eagle Release Program
has rehabilitated and released back into the wild more than 80 eagles,
plus other raptor species.
Barn owls are widespread
throughout the United States and often do very well in areas inhabited
by people. Barn owls can even be found in city parks and neighborhoods.
Farmers in recent years, recognizing the great pest control rewards
of having barn owls in their buildings, have encouraged nesting barn
owls by leaving openings for owls to enter their barns and even supplying
nest boxes. As a result, the presence of owls reduces the populations
of pest rodents.
Many raptor populations are declining. Human-caused changes in land use are escalating,
and this affects the habitats and migratory corridors required by some raptors
for survival. For the barn owl, loss of farms to housing and shopping malls is
removing their needed habitat. For other raptor species, critical shoreline and
riparian zone habitats are rapidly converted by expanding human communities and
agricultural needs. Shooting and trapping are also lowering raptor numbers. It's
only a matter of time until more raptor species may face extinction, unless we
take measures to protect their habitats.
Humans need raptors. Here are only a few of the benefits raptors provide:
- Raptors help keep
animal populations in balance.
- Raptors consume
many animals that humans consider as pests, including mice, rats
and destructive species of insects. This helps to control disease
and damage to crops.
- As top predators
of their food chain, raptors are an indicator species of the overall
health of the ecosystem in which they live.
- Of equal importance,
witnessing wild raptors enriches each of our lives. Imagine what
life would be like if we could no longer hear the haunting evening
call of the owl.
How You Can
Help!
Efforts to save threatened and endangered raptors require cooperation and support
at international, national, regional and individual levels. You can help in
this cause. Join and become active in Woodland Park Zoo and other conservation
organizations of your choice. Eliminate or reduce pesticide use. Let your elected
representatives know your views about the conservation of migratory birds and
their wild habitats.
Contact the Woodland Park Zoo at webkeeper@zoo.org to find ways
you can support conservation programs at the zoo. Discover more about raptors
by contacting the Peregrine Fund at their Web site www.peregrinefund.org. Learn other ways
you can help conserve wildlife and their habitats by visiting our How You Can Help page.
Sources and Suggested
Reading
Toops, Connie. 1990. The Enchanting Owl. Voyager Press, Inc., Stillwater, MN.
127 p.
For Kids!
Jarvis, Kila and Denver W. Holt. 1996. Owls: Whoo Are They?
Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, MT. 59 p.
Zoobooks. 1992. Owls. Wildlife Education, Ltd., San Diego, CA.
17 p.
More References
*
Taxonomic classification varies between references. Classification
information used in this fact sheet was taken from “A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the
World,” written by Richard Howard and Alick Moore. Second
Edition, 1991. |
Classification
and Range
