Bird Album
Western Barn Owl
Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769)
33–39 cmLength90 cmWingspan403 gWeight
Its long, pale wings seem to carry a heart-shaped face in flight.
Busiest months: January and May · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal
How to identify
Field marks
- Facial disc large and heart-shaped, mostly white
- Head and back mottled gray or brown
- Tail short and almost square
- Eyes black
Male, female and young
Within the same population, the male is usually paler and has fewer spots on the underparts than the female.
Voice
A sharp, drawn-out call, like a “shree”.
Where and when it's recorded
Western Barn Owl has been recorded at 835 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 83 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Bempton Cliffs RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom881 records
- Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom666 records
- Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom649 records
More places
- Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal596 records
- Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom527 records
- Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve, SSSI and LNRUnited Kingdom447 records
- Azud de RiolobosSpain402 records
- Fowlmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom397 records
- East Tilbury River and MarshesUnited Kingdom377 records
- Druridge Pools NWT NR and Druridge LinksUnited Kingdom325 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa. It was formerly considered a subspecies group together with barn owls native to other parts of the world, but this classification was found to be paraphyletic with respect to some other members of the genus.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Western Barn Owl?
The Western Barn Owl is about 33–39 cm long, with a wingspan of 90 cm and weighs around 403 g.
Where does the Western Barn Owl live?
Its breeding range: Africa, Palearctic: widespread. It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
When is the best time to see the Western Barn Owl?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January and May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Western Barn Owl endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Western Barn Owl as Least Concern.
What does the Western Barn Owl eat?
Main food: Vertebrate prey.
What family is the Western Barn Owl in?
It belongs to the family Barn Owls (Tytonidae), order Strigiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 33–39 cm
- Wingspan
- 90 cm
- Weight
- 403 g
- Habitat
- Towns & farmland
- Diet
- Vertebrate prey
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 286 mm
- Tail
- 120 mm
- Bill
- 32 mm
- Tarsus
- 60 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Africa, Palearctic: widespread
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Barn Owls Tytonidae
- Genus
- Tyto
Other birds in the genus Tyto
Greater Sooty OwlTyto tenebricosa
Lesser Sooty OwlTyto multipunctata
Minahasa Masked OwlTyto inexspectata
Taliabu Masked OwlTyto nigrobrunnea
Moluccan Masked OwlTyto sororcula
Manus Masked OwlTyto manusi
Golden Masked OwlTyto aurantia
Australian Masked OwlTyto novaehollandiae
Sulawesi Masked OwlTyto rosenbergii
Red OwlTyto soumagnei
American Barn OwlTyto furcata
Eastern Barn OwlTyto javanica
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by José Jiménez Higuera. ↗
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