Chapter 2 of 23

Where the Barn Owl Fits In

Two families of owls, and one very unusual face

About 4 minute read

There are well over two hundred kinds of owl in the world, and the birds fall into two big families. Most of the owls people picture in their heads belong to the family called Strigidae, which we can call the typical owls. It includes our own Tawny Owl, the Little Owl and the Long eared Owl. The Barn Owl belongs to the other family, the Tytonidae, which is much smaller. It is home to the barn owls, the grass owls, the masked owls and a couple of shy bay owls from Asia.

On a quick look, the two families seem alike. On a closer look, there are plenty of small differences, and once you know them you can spot a Barn Owl relative almost anywhere in the world.

Family features

The first difference you notice is the face. A Barn Owl has a big, flat, heart shaped facial disc with a narrow ridge of feathers running down the middle, and its eyes are small and dark. Tawny Owls and most of their relatives have a rounder face with bigger, more forward looking eyes.

Then look at the legs. A Barn Owl is long legged for an owl, and its knees often look tucked in together, which gives it a slightly knock kneed look when it stands. Its legs are only lightly feathered, with short thin feathers that get sparser towards the toes. Most typical owls have thick feathery trousers that hide the lower leg.

The feet give the game away too. The middle claw of a Barn Owl has a tiny row of teeth along its inner edge, like a little comb. The owl uses it to tidy the feathers around its face and bill. Other owls have the beginnings of the same edge, but without the teeth.

Even under the skin the two families differ. The skulls, breastbones and the shape of the ears are built to a different plan. If you like your science, you will enjoy knowing that scientists have argued over how the owl families are related for well over a century, and the arguments are not entirely over yet.

One species, many places

The Barn Owl is the most widespread owl in the world, and one of the most widespread land birds of any kind. It lives on every continent except Antarctica. You can find it in farmland in Britain, in rice fields in Asia, on ranches in the Americas and in the buildings of towns and cities in southern Europe. It avoids the coldest northern lands, deserts with no cover and thick forests, and it is not fond of high mountains.

Over such a huge range, the birds have come to look a little different from place to place, and scientists have described many regional forms, known as subspecies. In recent years, many experts have gone further and decided that the Barn Owls of the Americas, Australasia and some islands are different enough to count as separate species. The people who make these decisions do not all agree, so the exact number of Barn Owl species depends on whose list you read. For a British reader, the simple version works well. The bird in your local barn is the Western Barn Owl, Tyto alba.

Two kinds of Barn Owl in Europe

Across mainland Europe there are two regional forms. The one we have in Britain is the pale, white breasted bird, called Tyto alba alba. It lives across western Europe and around the Mediterranean. Further east lives the dark breasted form, known as Tyto alba guttata. It has a dirty orange or buff chest with dark spots, a face that carries more reddish colour and a darker back.

Where the two meet, in parts of France and Germany, they breed together quite happily, so there is a lot of mixing. Every now and then a dark breasted bird turns up in eastern England, probably from across the North Sea. Birdwatchers get excited when they see one, though it can be very hard to tell a really dark British bird from a true visitor.

The thing to remember is that a Barn Owl in Britain is almost always the pale kind. If you see a bird with a snow white front and a golden back, you are looking at the classic British Barn Owl.