Barn Owl
Tyto alba

Appearance: Medium-sized, with a distinctive heart-shaped face, and small black eyes. Their backs are a creamy brown, while their fronts and bottoms of their wings are white.

Range: North, Central and South America; Europe; Africa; Australia; southeast Asia.

Nesting: In cavities ranging from tree hollows and cliff crevices, to man-made structures.

Eggs: 2 to 11 white eggs per clutch - average of 6. Barn Owls begin incubating after the first egg is laid. Because two or more days can pass between each egg that is laid, there can be a three-week age difference between the first and last owls that hatch.

Diet: Primarily small mammals and occasionally insects, small birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Interesting Facts:

• Ears are asymmetrically placed, enabling them to pinpoint the location of prey by listening
  
• Have special feathers that dampen the flapping sounds normally made by other birds as they fly, allowing them to move silently when hunting
  
• The round shape of the Barn Owl face combined with their white body, silent flight, and tendency to nest in deserted man-made structures, has led to many mistaken "ghost" sightings
  
• Vocalize by making a "screech" or screaming call
  
• The scientific name, Tyto alba, refers to the owl's white coloration