8-5-2017 ARCOS DE FRONTERA, ANDALUSIA - BARN OWL (Tyto alba)

The Barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds. It is found almost everywhere in the world except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas, most of Indonesia, and some Pacific Islands. This owl does not hoot but utters an eerie, drawn-out screech.

The Barn owl is a medium-sized, pale-colored bird with long wings and a short, squarish tail. Its head and upper body typically vary between pale brown and some shade of grey in most subspecies. Some are purer, richer brown instead, and all have fine black-and-white speckles except on the remiges and rectrices (main wing and tail feathers), which are light brown with darker bands. The heart-shaped face is usually bright white, but in some subspecies it is brown. The left ear is slightly above the eyes on the vertical plane, whereas the right ear is slightly below the eyes. The underparts vary from white to reddish buff among the subspecies and are either mostly unpatterned or bear a varying number of tiny blackish-brown speckles. The beak varies from pale horn to dark buff, corresponding to the general plumage hue, and the iris is blackish brown. The feet, like the beak, also vary in color, ranging from pink to dark pinkish-grey and the talons are black.

Barn owls occur in all of Europe (except Fennoscandia and Malta), most of Africa apart from the Sahara, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Australia, many Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America. In general, they are considered to be sedentary, and indeed many individuals remain in chosen locations even when better foraging areas nearby become vacant. Barn owls are birds of open country such as farmland, plantation, shrubland, savanna, or grassland with some interspersed woodland. They prefer to hunt along the edges of woods or in rough grass strips adjoining pasture. For nesting and roosting, they choose holes in trees, fissures in cliffs, disused buildings, chimneys, hay sheds, barns, or silos.