Barn Owl Facts

1. Other old names for the Barn Owl are, Grass Owl, White Owl, Ghost Owl, Screech Owl.
2. Scientific Name,The scientific name, is 'Tyto Alba', in Greek 'Tyto' means Owl and in Latin 'Albe' means White 'Owl White' there is also another race called Tyto Guttata from central, East and North West Europe, which is a strong buff colour below and grey blue wings.
3. A 'Parliament' is the name for a group of owls.
4. An 'Owlet' is the name for a young owl.
5. A 'Pulli' is a baby owl.
6. The Barn Owl has Long Legs to help catch prey.
7. It is completely silent in flight due to it soft outer feathers, because of these feathers the Barn owl is not water proof, most bird are waterproofed to some degree, and therefore will not hunt in the rain unless desperate.
8. Length : 300mm (12") approximately.
9. Wingspan : 850mm (33.5") to 930mm (36.5") approximately.
10. Weight : 240 grams (8 oz) to 360 grams (13 oz).
11. Types of Rings, Wild Barn Owls are fitted with split rings (usually size 'U'). Captive Barn Owls are ringed with a closed ring which is fitted when the chick is between 10 and 21 days old.
12. Owl Pellets, black about the size of a mans thumb.
13. Books, Everything you want to know about OWLS, isbn 1 900732 05 X, Understanding Owls, Jemima Parry-Jones, isbn 0 7153 1223-5.
14. Eggs and Staggered Hatching, Depending on how many voles / mice are about will depend on the number of eggs layed but is usually about 5, the eggs usually hatch after about 30 days, there is also 2 days between each egg, this is so that if the food supply becomes short the youngest owl will die, giving the other young a chance to survive.
15. Fledgling, Barn Owl can take up to 8 weeks to fledge, once fledged the parents will continue to feed the young for about another 4 weeks. 
16. Hearing, The ears are at each side and are covered by feathers, one ear is set higher than the other it is believed that this helps them to locate prey.
17. Neck and Eyes, there eyes are so large that they cannot swivel them in there sockets, to compensate for this there neck can turn through 270 degrees.
    
    
    
    
18. Food, mainly, voles, mice, shrews sometimes small birds and bats.
19. Prey, The Barn Owl will usually try to swallow its prey whole, if it is to large it will rip it into pieces, a number of hours later it will cough up a pellet which is about the size of a mans thumb, black to dark grey in colour, and consist of the animals bones and fur.
20. Sound, Snores, Hisses and Barks.
21. Nests. In the old days the barn owl would nest in farmers barns with an opening in the brick / wood work for the the owl the enter the loft space and leave for hunting, the farmers would keep grain in the barn ideal habitat for mice and rats, just what the Bran Owl is looking for.
22. Protection, The Barn Owl and its Breeding Sites are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. and is protected as a Schedule 1 bird.
23. The Barn Owl belongs to the Raptor group of birds, because there feet have sharp talons and there beaks are used for ripping and taring animals, this group also includes Hawks, Eagles and Falcons.