Month 12 · December · Wave 1

Barn Owl

Tyto alba · Tytonidae

Ghostly heart-shaped face and an eerie hiss — not a classic hoot.

At a glance

Size: 12–16 in
Wingspan: 39–49 in
Habitat: Barns, silos, open fields, nest boxes
Diet: Mostly small rodents

Range: Nearly worldwide in temperate and tropical regions; patchy in Canada

Nesting: No real nest — eggs laid on debris in a cavity or box; many young when rodents boom.

Coloring pose idea: Heart-faced owl in barn rafter / flight over field

Hear this bird

General call / song: Harsh drawn-out scream; hisses at the nest.

Mating / display: Screening flight calls and mutual screaming near the nest site; soft snoring sounds from young.

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Play calls on All About Birds Species overview Audubon field guide

How to know it

Pale heart-shaped facial disc; long legs; no ear tufts.
Golden-buff upperparts speckled; underparts white to buff.
Night hunter over open fields with buoyant, moth-like flight.

Behavior

Nests in cavities, barns, and nest boxes.
Exceptional hearing — can catch prey in total darkness.
Calls are raspy screams and hisses rather than hoots.

Fun facts

Facial disc funnels sound to asymmetrically placed ears.
One of the most widespread owl species on Earth.
Farmers often welcome them as natural rodent control.

Companion page for the Birds Coloring Calendar series by R. J. D. B. Fact summaries are original educational text. Call playback via link to All About Birds / Cornell Lab. Re-test QR codes on a phone before final print. Not affiliated with Cornell Lab or Audubon.

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