Other Names (World)
Common Barn-owl, Barn Owl, Common Barn Owl, Lesser Masked-owl(!), Monkey-faced Owl, Cave Owl, Death Owl, Delicate Owl, Demon Owl, Ghost Owl, Golden Owl, Hissing Owl, Night Owl, Screech Owl, Silver, White Owl, Eastern Barn-owl (delicatula), Australian Barn-owl (delicatula), Galapagos Barn-owl (punctatissima), Ghost Bird, Western Barn Owl
Habitat
Mostly open areas, including grasslands and farmlands, open woodland with grassy understorey, timbered watercourses. In arid areas often occurs round rocky outcrops or ranges with many caves.
Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) [XC781869]
by Paul Kelly from Otegem, Belgium (call)
Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) [XC883847]
by florent yvert from Arrondissement de la Rochelle (near Saint-Xandre), Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France (nocturnal flight call, song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Throughout the year but mainly April - July, or when introduced house mice are abundant.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
In a hollow limb or a hole in a tree or building. Also on bare wood or artificial platform.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 7; matt, white; ellipsoidal; about 43 x 32 mm. Incubation: 33 - 35 days; mainly by female but often accompanied by male. Eggs are laid on alternate nights.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 63 - 70 days. Fed initially by female then by male also.
Subspecies
Occurs on all continents except Antarctica.
West Indian taxa glaucops, insularis and nigrescens formerly subspecies of Barn Owl (Tyto alba), now shown to be separate species, Ashy-faced Owl (Tyto glaucops). Some authors separate only glaucops, retaining other two subspecies in present species.
Validity of many proposed subspecies considered too doubtful to be upheld: in Europe, pusilla, kleinschmidti, kirchhoffi and hostilis merged with nominate, and rhenana with guttata; Madagascan hypermetra with African affinis; island populations everetti, kuehni, bellonae, lifuensis and lulu with widespread Australasian delicatula; Bahamian lucayana with pratincola; and, in Neotropics, Colombian subandeana with guatemalae, stictica with contempta and hauchecornei with tuidara.
Also, current separation of niveicauda from furcata and of guatemalae from pratincola perhaps doubtful, and continued separation of bondi may not be tenable; separation of hellmayri from tuidara based on size characters questionable. Furthermore, poensis possibly not separable from affinis, in which case poensis (as older name) has priority over latter. Northern African nominate subspecies birds sometimes placed in erlangeri; birds from southern Myanmar to Indochina sometimes placed in javanica, but seem better included in stertens. Melanesian populations, currently covered by 3 races (delicatula, crassirostris, interposita), may merit further splits. Several well-marked insular races (e.g. detorta, thomensis, deroepstorffi, punctatissima and possibly others) may be separate species.
Only one, delicatula, in Australia.
The following 31 subspecies are recognised:
alba (Scopoli, 1769) - Western and southern Europe (including Balearic Is and Sicily) to northern Turkey. Also western Canary Is (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, El Hierro), and northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt (except Sinai), south to northern Mauritania, southern Algeria, Niger (Aïr Massif) and north-eastern Sudan.
guttata (Brehm, CL, 1831) - Central Europe east to Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine, and south-east to Albania, Macedonia, Romainia and north-eastern Greece.
ernesti (Kleinschmidt, O, 1901) - Sardinia and Corsica.
erlangeri Sclater, WL, 1921 - Crete and smaller southern Greek islands, Cyprus and patchily from Syria east to south-western Iran and south to north-eastern Egypt (Sinai) and southern Arabian Peninsula.
schmitzi (Hartert, 1900) - Madeira and Porto Santo.
detorta Hartert, 1913 - Cape Verde Is. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Cape Verde Barn Owl (Tyto detorta).
affinis (Blyth, 1862) - Africa southern from southern edge of Sahara, including Zanzibar and Pemba, and Madagascar and Comoro Is.
poensis (Fraser, 1843) - Bioko I.
thomensis (Hartlaub, 1852) - São Tomé I; recorded in error from Príncipe I.
stertens Hartert, 1929 - Indian Subcontinent south to northern Sri Lanka, and east to south-central China (Yunnan), Vietnam and southern Thailand. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
deroepstorffi (Hume, 1875) - Southern Andaman Islands. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Andaman Masked-Owl (Tyto deroepstorffi).
javanica (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) - Malay Peninsula south to Greater Sundas (including Krakatau, Pulau Seribu and Kangean Is, and possibly southern Borneo) and east to Alor, as well as Tanahjampea, Kalao and Kalaotoa. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
sumbaensis (Hartert, 1897) - Sumba I. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
meeki (Rothschild and Hartert, 1907) - Eastern New Guinea and nearby islands of Manam and Karkar. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
delicatula (Gould, 1837) - Sawu, Roti(?), Timor, Jaco, Wetar, Kisar and Tanimbar Is; Australia and offshore islands; Long I and possibly northern New Britain and New Ireland. Also Nissan, Buka, Solomon Is (including Bougainville), southern Vanuatu (Erromanga, Tanna, Aneityum), New Caledonia, Loyalty Is, Fiji (north to Rotuma), Tonga (north to Niafo'ou), Wallis and Futuna Is, Niue I, western Samoa and Samoa. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
crassirostris Mayr, 1935 - Tanga Is (eastern Bismarck Archipelago). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
interposita Mayr, 1935 - Santa Cruz Is, Banks Is, northern Vanuatu (south to Efate). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica).
pratincola (Bonaparte, 1838) - Southern Canada southern at least to Mexico. Also Bermuda, Bahamas and Hispaniola. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
guatemalae (Ridgway, 1874) - Guatemala and perhaps southern Mexico to Panama (including Pearl Is), possibly to western Colombia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
bondi Parkes and Phillips, 1978 - Bay Is (Roatán, Guanaja), off northern Honduras. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
furcata (Temminck, 1827) - Cuba, Cayman Is and Jamaica. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
niveicauda Parkes and Phillips, 1978 - I of Pines. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
bargei (Hartert, 1892) - Curaçao, and possibly also Bonaire. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
punctatissima (G. R. Gray, 1838) - Galapagos Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
contempta (Hartert, 1898) - Western Venezuela, Colombia (except W?), Ecuador and Peru. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
hellmayri Griscom and Greenway, 1937 - Eastern Venezuela (including Margarita I) through the Guianas to northern Brazil (south to Amazon). Also Trinidad and Tobago. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
tuidara (J. E. Gray, 1829) - Brazil (south of Amazon) south to Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Is. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
hypermetra Grote, 1928 - Comoro Is. and Madagascar.
insularis (von Pelzeln, 1872) - St Vincent, Bequia, Union, Carriacou and Grenada. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Ashy-faced Owl (Tyto glaucops). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
nigrescens (Lawrence, 1878) - Dominica. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Ashy-faced Owl (Tyto glaucops). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata).
Similar Species
Light morphs of Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) which appears to have shorter and thicker legs with dense feathering and has a more rounded facial disk with a more definite dark outline, and male Grass Owl (Tyto longimembris) which is much darker above.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
(31Kb) © ? (
BirdLife International Species Factsheet