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Bird name:

Barn Owl

Tyto alba

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

Barn Owl (Tytonidae)

Code 4

BANO

Code 6

TYTALB

ITIS

177851

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Forest, Rocky places



Breeding Type:

Monogamous



Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common, Widespread



Egg Color:

White, sometimes nest stained



Number of Eggs:

2 - 12



Incubation Days:

28 - 35



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Debris arranged into crude depression.



Migration:

Irregular



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General

Barn Owl: Medium-sized owl with glaring white, heart-shaped facial disk, no ear tufts, and long legs. Upperparts are orange-brown with fine white spots and dark bars. Underparts are white with small black spots. Female is darker than male.

Range and Habitat

Barn Owl: Occurs on every continent except Antarctica. Found in a vast range of habitats, from rural to urban, but prefers warm climates with mild winters. Nearby open grassland is essential; rarely found in deep forests or mountains.

Breeding and Nesting

Barn Owl: Mates for life; because life expectancy is 2 years or less, reproductive rate is higher than that of other owls. Lays from 2 to 12 round, white eggs, usually more when prey is abundant. Builds nest inside barns, silos, church steeples, abandoned buildings, and hollow trees.

Foraging and Feeding

Barn Owl: Feeds on small mammals such as mice, voles, and shrews; also consumes small birds.

Vocalization

Barn Owl: Calls range from a rasping hiss to hair-raising screams of "kiiissh" and "shrreeeee, shrreeeee." Does not hoot like other owls.

Similar Species

Barn Owl: Short-eared Owl is streaked, has darker face and underparts, yellow eyes, and shorter legs.

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UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX