Barn Owl Facts!
Barn owls are nocturnal predators with pale coats and dark eyes. Unlike most owls, barn owls do not hoot in any way. Instead, they emit an ear-splitting screech and, when threatened, can even hiss like a snake. Barn owls are some of the most widely distributed birds in the world. However, they are birds with a short life span — most of them die within their first year.
Rodents, frogs and insects become prey to this owl. A family of barn owls, consisting of the nesting pair and their young, will eat more than a thousand rodents in a year! This actually makes them very economically valuable to farmers, because they reduce rodent populations. They are more effective than pesticides.
Barn owls use their acute hearing to locate prey. Flying close to the ground, they swoop in with perfect accuracy and snatch it with their talons. They often eat smaller prey whole, even eating the bones. Larger prey, however, is torn apart and only the edible parts are consumed, while the inedible parts are thrown away.
Barn Owls are featured in the following books:
25 Nocturnal Animals
101 Birds of Prey facts!
The YouTube video playlist below contains videos about Barn Owls. Details of the videos featured are underneath.
The Playlist:
- The Private Life of the Barn Owl by David Cobham
- Slow Motion Barn Owl Attack – Slo Mo #11 – Earth Unplugged
- Slow-Mo Barn Owl in Flight – Unexpected Wilderness – BBC
- Tyto the Barn Owl : BBC
