From their near-silent flight to their capacity to rotate their necks 270 levels, owls can appear extra like legendary creatures than flesh-and-blood birds.
Barn owls, specifically, are on one other stage. Identified for his or her pale heart-shaped face and shrill calls, these fascinating birds dwell in shadowed areas on the outskirts of the human world. Learn on to study why it’s a privilege to have barn owls as neighbors, even in case you by no means see them.
1.) Barn owls may be discovered nearly wherever on this planet. In 2024 ornithologists divided what was as soon as thought-about one species into three: the American, Japanese, and Western Barn Owls. Taken collectively, they’re amongst our most widespread land birds, nesting on every continent besides Antarctica. They have a tendency to keep away from the northernmost reaches of North America, Europe, and Asia, however they don’t thoughts some tropical island climate: They’ve settled all over the place from the Caribbean to Madagascar to small islands within the Pacific.
2.) Regardless of having comparatively small eyes for owls, barn owls boast spectacular imaginative and prescient in low-light situations. Their eyes are designed to maximise gentle sensitivity to allow them to hunt at night time. The tradeoff is that they see significantly poorly in daylight, even in comparison with different species of owl. Analysis additionally means that barn owls’ visible processing could also be fairly advanced: A study in 2018 revealed that the birds might group collectively totally different parts shifting in the identical route, a capability beforehand seen solely in people and primates.
3.) On prime of excellent night time imaginative and prescient, barn owls even have the greatest ability of any animal examined to find prey by ear. All owls have a facial disc—a concave assortment of quick feathers that ring their face—however the barn owl’s heart-shaped disc is particularly distinguished. It capabilities because the owl’s satellite tv for pc dish, funneling sound in direction of the ears. Which, by the best way, are asymmetrical, with one ear barely above the opposite. This helps them to pinpoint the supply of a sound in three dimensions, together with tiny prey scrabbling by hidden areas.
4.) Barn owls in flight are just about silent. That’s largely due to the form of owl wing feathers, which have a serrated vanguard, velvety texture, and tender fringe that dampens the sound of air shifting by. Barn owls specifically have very massive wings relative to their physique dimension, which permit them to maneuver slowly—they will fly as slowly as two miles per hour—and cut back noise. Their reliance on silent flight to hunt at night time has made the species a fascinating mannequin for engineers trying to develop quieter wind generators and laptop followers.
5.) With their sharp senses and hushed flight, it’s no surprise that Barn Owls are very good hunters. Relying on the place they reside, their menu of small mammals contains every thing from voles and mice to rats and small rabbits. One estimate suggests they will devour 1,000 mice a yr. Oh, and so they swallow them entire, bones and all.
6.) Barn owls’ looking prowess is why some conservation advocates promote utilizing the birds as a pure type of pest management. Satirically, rat poisons kill large numbers of owls, hawks, and different raptors, together with many different unintended targets. The California nonprofit Hungry Owl Project affords barn owl nesting bins to vineyards in change for his or her settlement to cease utilizing rodenticides.
7.) Feminine birds often get the quick finish of the stick in relation to aesthetics. Not so for the barn owl, whose females may be distinguished by their heavy flourish of speckles across the head and breast. Analysis means that the marks could also be greater than ornamental: A 2001 study discovered that females with extra spots confirmed a better resistance to parasites; remarkably, so did their nestlings. The researchers assume that the spots might point out a hereditary benefit to potential companions.
8.) With regards to attracting potential companions, male barn owls depend on an aerial dance referred to as a “moth flight.” Throughout this mating ritual, the male hovers in entrance of the feminine and reveals off the white areas on his chest. If the feminine is sufficiently wooed by the efficiency, she’s going to reply with a snore-like name, which signifies that the male could now deliver her meals and, with a bit of luck, mate along with her. (Barn owl chicks additionally make a snoring sound after they’re calling for meals. In case you hear out of doors loud night breathing, you is likely to be of their neighborhood!)
9.) Barn owls don’t hoot—they hiss, grunt, and scream. Sure, scream.
They use these high-pitched shrieks to speak to different members of their species; an extended, extra forceful scream signifies a misery sign or warning. Accordingly, their Irish title, scréachóg reilge, interprets to “graveyard screecher.” (Some say the barn owl’s cries gave rise to the nation’s Banshee legend.)
10.) Have you ever ever puzzled if a rundown constructing is haunted? That ghost would possibly really be a barn owl. The species has a behavior of roosting in previous and deserted buildings. Add that to their ghostly face and shrieking behavior, and it is sensible that barn owls have discovered their approach into many a legend. Some investigators have urged that the American Barn Owl is likely to be behind alleged sightings of well-known cryptid Mothman. And in South Texas and Mexico, the birds are often called lechuza—shape-shifting witches that deliver unhealthy tidings.
