Barn owl
Tyto alba
L 14″ W 44″
Habitat: The barn owl inhabits most of the forest types in the United States except the higher elevation types in the Rocky Mountains. They are usually considered uncommon residents because their silent nocturnal habits render them undetectable by most casual observers. Barn owls are also birds of the open country, and adapt readily to areas occupied by man (Marti 1974).
Nest: Before the coming of man, barn owls nested in natural cavities in trees, cliffs, or arroyo walls, but now they also nest in barns, church steeples, bird boxes, mine shafts, and dovecotes (Bailey and Niedrach 1965, Reed 1897).
Food: Barn owls frequent areas where small mammals are plentiful; mice, voles, rats, gophers, and ground squirrels are major food items. Birds other than those such as house sparrows and blackbirds, which have communal roosts, are only rarely taken (Marti 1974).