How much do you really know about barn owls? Test yourself with these 15 barn owl quiz questions, from their heart shaped faces to what's inside an owl pellet. Click each question to reveal the answer and a fun fact. Then, if you're feeling brave, take on our free online quiz below and see if you can make the leaderboard!
Barn owl quiz questions and answers
1. What shape is a barn owl's face?
Heart shaped. The heart shaped face is called a facial disc. It works like a satellite dish, collecting sounds and funnelling them to the owl's ears.
2. Do barn owls hoot?
No, they screech. The famous "twit twoo" belongs to the tawny owl. Barn owls give a long, harsh screech, and also hiss, click their beaks and make snoring sounds.
3. What is a barn owl's favourite food in the UK?
The field vole. Field voles live in rough, tussocky grass. Barn owls also eat shrews, mice and the occasional young rat.
4. How does a barn owl eat a vole?
It swallows it whole, usually head first. Later, it coughs up the fur and bones it can't digest as a neat, dark pellet.
5. What is inside a barn owl pellet?
Fur and bones. Pellets often contain whole skulls, so scientists and schoolchildren can work out exactly what the owl has been eating.
6. How far can a barn owl turn its head?
About 270 degrees. Owls can't move their eyes in their sockets, so they turn their whole head instead. They have 14 neck bones, twice as many as we do.
7. What's unusual about a barn owl's ears?
The ear openings are at different heights. One sits higher on the head than the other, so the owl can tell whether a sound is above or below it, and pinpoint a vole in the dark.
8. Why can barn owls fly almost silently?
Their soft feathers have comb like edges. The soft, fringed feathers break up the sound of air rushing over the wings, so prey can't hear the owl coming.
9. How many eggs does a barn owl usually lay?
Usually 4 to 6. The eggs are white and laid a few days apart, so the owlets hatch at different times and are all different sizes.
10. How long do barn owl eggs take to hatch?
About 30 days. The female sits on the eggs, while the male brings her food.
11. How old are owlets when they first fly?
About 8 to 10 weeks old. Before their first flight, they exercise their wings in the nest box. You can often see this on our live cameras!
12. What noise do hungry barn owl chicks make?
A hissing, snoring sound. Owlets "snore" loudly to beg for food, especially when they hear a parent arriving.
13. Do British barn owls migrate?
No. Barn owls stay in the same area all year round, which is why snowy and very wet winters are so hard for them.
14. On which continent are there no wild barn owls?
Antarctica. Barn owls live on every other continent, making them one of the most widespread land birds in the world.
15. What is a group of owls called?
A parliament. Barn owls have lots of nicknames too, including ghost owl, church owl and white owl.
How did you do? 🦉 12 or more and you're a true owl expert. 8 to 11 is a great score. Under 8? Read on and try the online quiz for hundreds more questions!
Play the free online barn owl and wildlife quiz
Our online quiz has hundreds of barn owl questions, plus over 1,000 wildlife questions and lots more categories. It's free, with no sign up, and your best score goes on the global leaderboard.
🦉 For barn owl questions, choose Barn Owls from the Category menu before you press Begin game. The quiz starts on Wildlife.
💡 Top tip: buy a spare life from Buster early in the game, while his prices are low. It'll help you reach the big bonus questions! See all the quiz tips and rules.
Watch real barn owls live
All the answers above come from watching barn owls like Buster, who you can see on our live barn owl nest camera in the Peak District, 24 hours a day. Look out for his hunting trips at dusk, and maybe even a visit from Miss B!
More barn owl fun and facts
- 📚 Over 100 barn owl facts, questions and answers
- 🏫 Free printable barn owl worksheets for schools, with answer sheets
- 🐭 What do barn owls eat?
- 🎬 Learn with Poppy and Oscar: What do barn owls eat? and Male or female barn owl?
- 🥃 See how I make owl nest boxes from old whisky barrels
- ❓ The full wildlife quiz page
Paul 🦉