Barn owl: photo of an owl. Barn owl nocturnal

Average length wings - 243-343 mm; wingspan - 103 cm. Length of females - 44-51 cm; weight - 900-1100 g. Length of males - 37-43 cm; weight - 600-700 g.

An owl of medium size without tufts of ears. Females, as a rule, are larger and heavier than males (the difference in weight is up to 350 g), however, in one of the observed pairs, reverse sexual dimorphism was revealed.

The main plumage of the bird is ash-black; on the rounded facial corolla, the color of which varies from light gray to graphite (gradually darkens from the light edges to the middle), there are very large black eyes.

The lower abdomen and thighs are dark, with small, irregular black spots. The iris of the eye is of a deep dark brown color, the beak is light cream. The legs are densely feathered down to the base of the dark gray toes, which end in massive black-brown claws. The wings are short, rounded and uniform along the entire length; very short tail.

Chicks are covered with whitish or light gray downs; adolescents look almost like adults, but with a darker facial disc.

Voice

The most famous call of the Black Barn Owl is the continuous downward whistle often compared to the sound of a flying

The common barn owl is well known to the inhabitants of Western European countries, however, little is known about it in Russia. This is the most ancient branch of the order of owls. Its Latin name sounds like Tyto alba, and its English name is Barn owl. The people called her a night owl, a ghostly and screaming owl. Her distinctive features is a peculiar voice and head shape. Who is the barn owl, and what kind of life does she lead? Let's talk in more detail in this article about one of the most common owls in the world.

Barn owl: description

The name of this apparently comes from the peculiarity of her voice, reminiscent of a kind of snoring or vulture. It differs from other representatives of owls in the shape of a face disc in the form of a heart, while it seems that she is wearing a white mask. The small bird has a light color and a peculiar face. Its magnitude is about the same as long-eared owl or jackdaw. Its length reaches 33-39 cm, its body weight is 300-355 g, and its wingspan is about 90 cm. By the way, its weight can vary widely and depends individually on a particular individual. It can be either 180 g or 700 g.

In the upper part, its color has acquired a sandy (red) color with white and dark specks. The barn owl is white in the lower part (less often yellow), in addition to this, dark blotches are present in the plumage. The facial disc is light and has a flattened appearance; it also has an ocher border; there is a small area of ​​red feathers under the eyes. The wings are pale white, with a golden streaky pattern. - dark brown or black. Her eyes are expressive and large. She has a slender physique, and she also has long legs, which have thick and fluffy plumage up to the toes. She has a short tail. The beak is yellowish white. By the way, the color of the lower part depends on the habitat of the barn owl. For example, in North Africa, Western and Southern Europe, in the Middle East it is white, but in the rest of Europe it is yellow-orange.

By gender, they practically do not differ from each other. Females are slightly darker, but this is not particularly noticeable. Young chicks also do not differ from adults, sometimes they are more variegated.

As we noticed, such a bird as a barn owl has a very memorable appearance, the photo clearly demonstrates this to us.

Habitat

The common barn owl is 35 subspecies, which are distributed across all continents, excluding only Antarctica, they are also found on the islands. Previously, she could be found in the Baltic States and other CIS countries: now she lives there in small numbers. On the territory of Russia, it is found only in Kaliningrad region... In the European part, it is absent in the northern regions and mountain ranges.

One side, barn owl adapted to different geographic conditions, since it is widespread almost everywhere, and on the other hand, it does not have the ability to accumulate fat reserves in itself, therefore it does not tolerate the harsh climate. In the northern regions of the United States and most of Canada, in Northern Europe and practically on the entire territory of Russia, for this reason, it does not exist. The bird cannot live in African and Asian deserts either.

There were cases when the barn owl was artificially populated by humans in areas where it had never been. Thus, she appeared in the Seychelles and Hawaiian Islands, in New Zealand. After the barn owl was settled in the Seychelles, the population of the kestrel, which it fed on, began to decline.

Favorite places to stay

The barn owl almost always settles near human dwellings. Nests as in large cities and in countryside... Likes to settle in attics, in hollows and wall niches. Prefers rooftops and abandoned buildings. Most often, the barn owl is found in open plains where there are few trees. These can be places such as woodlands, swamps, dense meadows, birds also live along wastelands, reservoirs, ravines and highways.

It can often be found where agricultural farms and human habitations are located. Barn owl tries to avoid dense forests and alpine places. This bird needs following conditions for distribution: availability of food, lack of cold winters and weak competition with other predators. Basically, they do not change their habitat, exceptions are situations when the food supply in their habitat is depleted.

What does he eat?

Her most favorite food is mouse-like rodents, she can also cope with a pike (large She can catch up to 15 mice per night. She rarely eats small birds, in particular, sparrows, as well as large and amphibious insects. Rats can be used as food , voles, hamsters, shrews, possums. They can also catch bats, frogs, reptiles and invertebrates. The owl grabs the victim right on the fly, clamps it with its tenacious claws and carries it to a place where it can safely eat it.

Location features hearing aid allow the bird to catch all the sounds that the prey emits, which helps it a lot when hunting. Her ears have an asymmetrical arrangement: one of them is at the level of the nostrils, and the other is in the forehead.

The characteristic voice of a barn owl

She lets out a husky, whispering rattling sound. Barn owls defiantly flap their wings and snap their beaks. By the way, this feature of them can inevitably terrify people who decided to relax in the forest silence and met with her. Many sounds have been noted emitted by this owl, but still the predominant one is a hoarse, shrill warble, which can be heard during its flight. The cry of a female barn owl is lower in tone.

By the way, she got her Russian for a low, rattling, hoarse cry that sounds like "heee". They publish it more often than the usual hooting of an owl. Her peculiar hoarse voice resembles a hoarse cough.

Nocturnal lifestyle

She flies out to hunt in late twilight and is strictly nocturnal. As a rule, they live alone, but can be found in small groups in places of congestion of game. Since barn owls lead at night, they sleep off during the day. They choose a niche for sleeping, natural or artificial - it can be a hole in the ground or an unused attic.

During the hunt, they change altitude - they go up, then go down again, flying around the property. They can also wait for a victim, hiding in ambush. Their wings are designed in such a way that their flight is as quiet and soft as possible, and they also have excellent eyesight and hearing. By the way, in some regions, barn owls hunt during the day, for example, in Britain, but at this time of day they are in danger in the form of birds of prey, such as, for example, seagulls.

The barn owl kills its prey with its claws, then steps on it with a long leg and tears it apart with its beak. It has a very mobile neck, thanks to which it can eat its prey, practically without bending over. During a meal, the feathers of the facial disc move, and it seems that the owls are grimacing.

Reproduction

The common barn owl is usually monogamous, but cases of polygamy are also not excluded. One, rarely two clutches occur per year. The start of the breeding season usually depends on climatic conditions habitats and the amount of food. In warmer regions and where there is a lot of food, they can breed at any time of the year. For example, in temperate Europe or North America it starts in March-June. If re-clutching takes place, then hatching of chicks will take place during the period March-May and June-August.

The male himself chooses the place where the nest will be, and then begins to call the female. As such, the nest is not built; for this, a closed and dark place is chosen. This can be a recess in an old stump, a hollow of a tree and other niches. The female is engaged in incubating eggs, while the male brings her food. The nest is located at a height of 2-20 meters above the ground, the size of the clutch is usually 4-7 eggs, but can be from 2 to 14. There are more of them, as a rule, in periods characterized by an abundance of food. The size of eggs, which are white or cream colored, averages 30-35 mm.

During the breeding season, birds emit various sounds... They shriek and hoarsely scream, hoot and sniff, making a characteristic "heee" sound. The rest of the time, as a rule, owls are silent. The female incubates eggs for about a month. Juveniles fly out of the nest at 50-55 days of life.

By the way, a pair of owls remains together until the death of one of the partners. The female and the male live close to each other, but separately.

Behavior in times of danger

In a calm state, a sitting barn owl keeps its body straight, and if the bird is worried, it takes a threatening pose - spreads its paws, spreads its wings in a horizontal plane and sticks to the ground. When she meets the violator of her territorial possessions, she actively flaps her wings, approaching closer and closer to the enemy. Loudly hisses and clicks beak. If this does not help, then she attacks the enemy, falling on his back and striking blows with clawed paws.

Barn owl chicks

The hatched chicks are completely dependent on their parents, who feed them in turn. At birth, they are covered with thick white down. In the event that it is very cold, the barn owl does not leave the nest at all and warms the chicks, which become completely independent after three months. Grown chicks fly away to new places and find themselves another territory for habitation and reproduction. A barn owl can even have 10 chicks at a time, if conditions allow, but in a hungry year, as a rule, no more than 4 eggs are expected.

It is noted that the behavior of their chicks is not typical for birds: they show altruism, refusing food in favor of those who are more hungry than they are. In comparison with most other birds, in which the young literally rip out food from each other in order to feed themselves, this fact arouses great interest in such a bird as the barn owl. A photo of her chicks shows how they look when they are born.

Parents show concern even after their chicks fly out of the nest: they continue to care for and feed them until they become completely independent, that is, they will not reach three months of age.

Attitude of people

The barn owl has always been a symbol of wisdom among people, but at the same time they treated this bird with superstitious fear. Now superstitions are a thing of the past, and people are increasingly showing genuine interest in it. Barn owls instilled fear in people because of some of their features: a white face resembling a mask, frightening sounds, and also because of the habit of this bird to fly up silently and abruptly appear in front of a man, for which people called her a ghostly owl.

The barn owl mainly feeds on rodents, thereby benefiting humans. People have long appreciated the help of these owls in the destruction of pests. So, in the 17th century, such a practice spread, when special windows were made in houses, barns, mills and other buildings through which barn owls could penetrate and destroy rodents. In this way, the birds also remained full, and benefits were brought to man.

If they notice people nearby, they begin to behave very interestingly: they rise high, swing on their feet in different directions and at the same time depict various grimaces. If you come very close to her, then she, as a rule, flies away.

How long does a barn owl live?

In natural conditions, barn owls can live up to 18 years, but this maximum rate... In fact, it turns out that they live mostly very little - average duration their life is about 2 years. Cases have been recorded when the barn owl was able to live in natural conditions up to 17 years, in North America the bird in captivity died at the age of 11.5 years, but in England the record was broken - the bird lived in captivity for 22 years.

We talked about such interesting bird, like a barn owl, about what habits it has and how it is useful for humans. Unfortunately, due to changes in environment and the use of pesticides in various parts of Europe, the number of barn owls is decreasing. Also, there are frequent cases of death of birds from collisions with cars on highways. Currently, the barn owl is a bird that is listed in the Red Data Books of a number of countries. of Eastern Europe, where, for some unknown reason, in recent decades, there has been a rapid decrease in its number.

Barn owl small black

Small black barn owl

Lesser black barn owl - Tyto multipunctata - inhabits dense tropical forests on the plains of Northeastern Australia: northeastern Queensland (Cooktown - Townsville line, near Lake Ichem). Some researchers include this species in Tyto tenebricosa.

The small black barn owl is noticeably inferior in size to the southern black barn owl, which lives in the forests of northern Queensland. Endemic to humid rainforest this area of ​​Australia. Both types of barn owls are often called silver, meaning the silvery-white color of the bird's underside. Barn owl is lighter in color in the upper part of the body, it is often grayish-brown with a large number light streaks of a silvery-white shade on the head and wings; there are also black birds, but also very variegated. Facial disc large, silvery-white around the eyes. Around the disc there is a bright border of short dark feathers. The underside of the body is silvery-white with many dark spots, which are especially abundant on the chest, which makes the chest appear dark gray. The tail is very short. The eyes are large, the eyes are black. The beak is light gray, the legs are light gray, the fingers are adapted to capture prey: two are directed forward, two are directed backward, the claws are black. Slight sexual dimorphism in size, the female is slightly larger (male 33 cm, female 37 cm). On average, the body length of small black barn owls ranges from 31-38 cm.

Barn owls lead a secretive lifestyle, but their location can be determined by the cry, which eyewitnesses define as "the whistle of the bomb." This is a loud trill-whistle, turning into a loud scream, heard at a great distance. Threatening, the barn owl clicks its tongue, making clicking sounds to unnerve its opponent.

The black barn owl is a hollow nest. For nesting, it chooses large hollows of a living tree sometimes - in the fork of large knots, giving preference to trees called Rose Gum. In other cases, it occupies natural depressions between the roots of trees and in natural niches along the slopes of the banks. Male and female adhere to each other for a long time, however, outside the nesting season they live alone and spend the day in different places. The female lays two eggs and incubates them for 42 days. The male brings prey to the female into the nest several times per night. The number of breeding pairs in the rainforest of northern Queensland is estimated at 2,000 pairs. Barn owls inhabit the area from the mountains in the south of Cooktown to the north of this area. The optimal area for them is 50 hectares.

During the hunt, barn owls are able to overcome dense thickets rainforest at night, locating and attacking their prey. They are fed by land animals: rats, other rodents, bandicoots, lizards, frogs and others small mammals... They sometimes hunt arboreal animals, birds and possums. Since the barn owls are in the beginning the food chain, the size of their livestock depends on the food supply. Another limiting factor is anxiety from the person. These are territorial birds that do not move far from their possessions.

The life expectancy of black barn owls is high, the rates of reproduction are low, therefore, the population size is never excessive. The breeding season is between January and August. Despite the narrow habitat, the number of this species is considered normal and has remained stable for many years. In this it differs from the black owl, whose number, although recognized as normal, is currently steadily declining as a result of deforestation.

Barn owls, like most nocturnal birds, have good night vision, but when hunting, they rely more on their sensitive hearing, which, as experimentally established, is four times greater than the hearing capabilities of other animals. This allows them to hunt in absolute darkness. This unique ability achieved special structure ears, in which both ears are located asymmetrically at different levels. Due to this, the sound signal reaches the right and left ears with a certain time difference, this allows the owl to more accurately determine the location of a potential victim. In addition, the higher ear opening is directed downward and is more sensitive to sounds that come from below. The short feathers that surround the facial disc direct sounds to the ears. Having fluffed up these feathers, the barn owl directs them so that the sound goes directly to the ear holes.

During the hunt, the barn owl attacks its prey, grasping it with its claws in such a way that the claws grab onto the victim from four sides. Owls swallow their prey whole with feathers, fur and claws, and then once or twice a day regurgitate the undigested remnants in the form of dense balls - pellets.

Much harm to barn owls is caused by the use of pesticides in agriculture, they are most vulnerable to DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane). Great damage to the population of barn owls causes road traffic as owls tend to hunt along the roadside. Many medium and large birds, including barn owls, die on power lines.

Since 1971, the little black owl, like the rest of Australia's birds of prey, has been protected by law. Barn owl trade is only permitted as part of an exchange between zoos.

Based on materials from the sites http://www.fortunecity.com/ and http: // www. birdwatching - australia. com /.

• Order: Striges, or Strigiformes = Owls, owls
• Family: Tytonidae = Barn owl

Species: Tyto tenebricosa = Black or ash barn owl

The Black or Ash Barn Owl (The Sooty Owl) is an elusive and little-researched bird native to the southern Australian rainforests. Among the barn owls, it has the largest eyes. Its habitat: coastal and mountainous areas of southeastern Australia from Dandenong (area of ​​Melbourne) and to Conandale (north of Brisbane). There are reports of meeting them on Wreckage Island in the Bass Strait, and they are also found at Montaigne in the rainforests of New Guinea.

The black owl is a medium sized bird. The plumage is ash-black in color, and on the facial disc there are very large eyes outlined in black circles. Against the background of ash-black plumage, there are small white specks on the head and large, but more rare white spots on the wings. The obverse disc is painted in gray or silver colors, it is framed with a black border. In the plumage, there are transitions from ash-black to dark gray or slightly whitish colors. The plumage on the belly is always lighter than on the chest. The tail is very short. The ash owl's beak is different in color from the facial disc. Dark gray feet with large black claws. Sexual dimorphism is absent; birds of both sexes are colored the same. However, the female is usually slightly larger than the males. Its length is 44-51 cm, weight 750-1000 g, while the male has a length of 37-43 cm and weight 500-700 g.

The black owl differs from the little ash owl in a darker plumage and a larger size, and white spots located on top are more rare. And where the little ash owl has dark spots on a light background, the ash owl has just light spots.

The ash owl's voice is a characteristic penetrating low cry, which lasts about two seconds. This sound is similar to the sound of a falling bomb, only without the final explosion, which is why such a cry is called the "whistle of a bomb."

Ash owls live in the deepest ravines. They are little researched precisely because they are active mainly at night - they are the most nocturnal of all Australian owls. Their very large eyes provide them with excellent vision. Ash owls are strong and dexterous hunters, so quite often they become prey major representatives fauna of forests, which owls track down sitting on a tree. In this they differ not only from the little ash owl, but also from other representatives of the Barn owl family, which hunt down prey in flight over the ground.

Possums make up most the extraction of the ash owl, but cases of its hunting for other mammals were also recorded. There are no detailed descriptions of the hunting methods of these owls. It is only known that the male hunts only deep at night and in mating season, and in the period of incubation and feeding of chicks, and brings prey to the nest once.

Seasonality in breeding is not expressed. The reproduction of the ash owl can occur regardless of the time of year, although eggs are mainly laid from January to June, but there are cases of observation of nesting in spring, from August to September. During this period, males become very noisy, they often utter a cry of "whistle of a bomb". A pair of owls make a nest in a large hollow of an old but living tree, and then lining and insulating it with a soft bedding. The nest can be placed in a tree at any height from 10 to 50 meters. There are several known cases of ash owl nesting in caves, apparently due to the lack of suitable hollow trees. Females occupy the hollow several weeks before the start of laying eggs, and leave it only at night for a very short time. If the nest is located in a cave, then the female does not leave it at all.

As a rule, females of the ash owl lay 1–2 rounded white eggs, 44–52 mm long and 36–41 mm wide. Incubation lasts about 42 days. The male feeds the female right in the nest. Chicks are first covered with gray down, and fledge by about 3 months. A nestling of a recently fledged ash owl depends on its parents for some time, and then leaves the nest forever.

The ash owl's habitat is deep damp ravines in eucalyptus forests, usually with large, old, smooth-stemmed trees covered with ferns. Singing owls are sedentary birds, they adhere to their own territorial boundaries. But they can hunt in dry forests, but they need high humidity during the period of hatching and for shelters.

Tyto multipunctata (Mathews,)

Tyto multipunctata is a bird of the barn owl family that lives in Australia.

Area

Tyto multipunctata inhabits dense tropical forests on the plains of northeastern Australia: northeastern Queensland (Cooktown - Townsville line, vicinity of Lake Ichem). Some researchers include this species in Tyto tenebricosa(black barn owl).

Appearance

Tyto multipunctata in size it is noticeably inferior to the black barn owl, which lives in the forests of northern Queensland. Endemic to the tropical rainforests of this region of Australia. Both types of barn owls are often called silver, meaning the silvery-white color of the bird's underside. Barn owl is lighter in color in the upper part of the body, it is often grayish-brown with a large number of light streaks of a silvery-white shade on the head and wings; there are also black birds, but also very variegated. Facial disc large, silvery-white around the eyes. Around the disc there is a bright border of short dark feathers. The underside of the body is silvery-white with many dark spots, which are especially numerous on the chest, which makes the chest appear dark gray. The tail is very short. The eyes are large, the eyes are black. The beak is light gray, the legs are light gray, the fingers are adapted to capture prey: two are directed forward, two are directed backward, the claws are black. Slight sexual dimorphism in size: the female is slightly larger (male 33 cm, female 37 cm). On average, the body length of small black barn owls ranges from 31-38 cm.

Lifestyle

Barn owls lead a secretive lifestyle, but their location can be determined by the cry, which eyewitnesses define as "the whistle of the bomb." This is a loud trill-whistle, turning into a loud scream, heard at a great distance. Threatening, the barn owl clicks its tongue, making clicking sounds to unnerve its opponent.

Tyto multipunctata- hollow nest. For nesting, it chooses large hollows of a living tree, sometimes at a fork in large knots, giving preference to trees called Rose gum... In other cases, it occupies natural depressions between the roots of trees and in natural niches along the slopes of the banks. Male and female adhere to each other for a long time, however, outside the nesting season they live alone and spend the day in different places. The female lays two eggs and incubates them for 42 days. The male brings prey to the female into the nest several times per night. The number of breeding pairs in the rainforest of northern Queensland is estimated at 2,000 pairs. Barn owls inhabit the area from the mountains in the south of Cooktown to the north of this area. The optimal area for them is 50 hectares.

Hunting

During the hunt, barn owls are able to overcome dense thickets of the tropical forest at night, establishing the location of their prey and attacking it. They are fed by land animals: rats, other rodents, bandicoots, lizards, frogs and other small mammals. They sometimes hunt arboreal animals, birds and possums. Since barn owls are at the beginning of the food chain, the size of their livestock depends on the food supply. Another limiting factor is anxiety from the person. These are territorial birds that do not move far from their possessions.