Tyto alba
 

I have been fortunate enough to see owls on my local patch lately, although not (yet?) Barn Owls.

However, I have a couple of Barn Owl questions to pose to more knowledgeable BFers than I. :brains:

I understand that Barn Owls are one of the world's great invariant birds. My Barn Owls are the same as Stu's and Charles' in Japan, dennis' and Beverlybaynes' in the US, Nancy's on Aus (if they have them in Aus etc. etc. etc.

In Europe (in my books) the owls are divided into "Typical Owls" and "Barn Owl".

Can anyone tell me...

1. Why is a Barn Owl not a "Typical Owl"?

2. Are there any other Barn Owls or non-Typical Owls worldwide?

Yours curiously,

Well, I can find the answers a bit: 16 species of Tytonids worldwide inc. 28 subspecies of Barn Owl; and BWP lists the rather arcane differences between Tytonids and Strigids-- heart-shaped face, wishbone connected to the breast bone, etc. I suppose the variance from other owls is wide enough to warrant a different family. Beyond my ken, birdman. Any real ornithologists out there?

If I only HAD a barn owl, Birdman!! I've never yet seen one in the wild. And the only one I have seen is a European one, held by a local falconer.

They always surprise me with their size -- I had always pictured them much larger than they are.

Oh, I hope you get to see one wild and free!

My book says the are uncommon and declining in the Eastern US, although they do breed.

I've been lucky enough to see maybe 3 or 4. I sometimes see one hunting when I am travelling to and from work at the right time, and I have actually seen a couple in the middle of the road on country lanes.

I'd love to see one on my patch!

Thanks for the info Charles.

That's already more than I knew - and having been under the impression that the bird does not vary geographically, I am amazed to hear there are 28ssp!!!

Anyone else add anything?

Not much more to add Birdman except that I remember that in Australia they have more "barn owl" species than typical owls, unusual since there are far more species of typical owls in the world. They have five (Barn, Grass, Masked - largest Tyto in the world - Sooty and Lesser Sooty - all this from memory. Please correct me if I'm wrong Aussie birders) and only four typical owls. Didn't see any of them whilst I was there and the latter two are supposed to be two of the least known birds in Australia.

Haven't seen a Barn Owl since I were nobbut a lad on the Staffs/Derbys border. Perhaps I should make a special effort when I go to England in August. Yes I will. Any in Donny, Birdman?
E

Your memory, Edward, is excellent! Your list of 5 barn owls is 100% correct. There are 10 typical owls listed in the region, but several of them are Australian only by courtesy. There is one record of a vagrant Buffy Fish-Owl, and that at Christmas Island which, geographically, is really more Indonesia than Australia; ditto for the Brown Hawk-Owl, except read Ashmore Reef for CI; the Christmas Island Hawk-Owl is restricted to ... well, you can probably guess where it's restricted to ... the Little Owl is introduced to New Zealand, where a smallish poulation persists in the South Island; and the Laughing Owl of New Zealand is extinct since about 1970.

That leaves only four: the Rufous Owl's range extends through New Guinea to the tropical north; we get the Powerful Owl in my part of the world, where it is rare and threatened by loss of habitat; the Barking Owl is widespread but diminishing in numbers; and the Southern Boobook is everywhere.

Alas, I have never seen any of them in the wild, only in captivity. I've heard Boobooks often enough (they are unmistakable) and seen Tawny Frogmouths, but never an owl. One day.....

Thanks for additional info, Tannin. There's a sign post near my brother's house on the main road out of Brisbane saying "Welcome to.. the Home of the Powerful Owl" and a big picture of the said owl. I'll have to enlist some local help to find it next time I go. It's a great name for a bird I think. Where are you in Australia by the way Tannin? Part of the attraction of owls I think is the fact that they are generally difficult to see. Have managed to see seven species but haven't been to Finland birding yet (the Mecca of European owls) and there's still one in Iceland which keeps eluding me, Snowy Owl.

E

Thanks Tannin!

Edward, I agree that a lot of the atttraction (mystique?) of owls is because of the generally nocturnal nature (here in the UK at least).

I think I've been unbelievably lucky to see 5 individuals in such a short time. Of course the light nights help!

Keep an eye out for my Outback reports, where I'll let everyone know if I come across a Donny Barn Owl.

I'm from Ballarat, Edward, which is a town of 80,000 or so about 80 miles west of Melbourne. There are Powerful Owls in the forest near here, but the closest I ever got to one was going to a place where they were roosting the day before. But I freely confess to not having tried too hard, I'm not much of a rarities man.

Having seen the Powerful Owl in captivity just the other week, I have to say that the name fits it like a glove. It's a big - very big! - sullen-looking thing with hunched-over shoulders and a very mean tempered look about it.

I am eternally jealous of my friend I go birding with who has seen owls several times and once opened her letter box in broad daylight only to be greeted by a pair of big, astonishingly mammalian eyes and the fury face of an Owlett-nightjar. I'm not sure who was more surprised! Every time I check her mail now, I wonder if, just maybe, the Owlett-nightjar might be there again.

Re: Barn Owls
 

You're not wrong there Malky. According to the distribution maps in Beaman and Madge's highly regarded Handbook of Bird Identification there are no Ravens in Iceland. YOU WHAT? There one of the most noticeable birds we have here, 5,000 pairs!

E

Hi Edward,

Found that so incredible, I had to check it for myself! Given the position of the Raven in Viking psyche & religion, I'd guess that error must be viewed as something of a national affront :C :storm:
Do Icelandic bookshops hold ritual burnings of the book from time to time?

Michael

Hi birdman. Got in a little late on this thread,

Barn Owl is declining in the northeast of US. Here in Pennsylvania, we are at the northern edge of it's current range. Several reasons for the decline have been offered including reduction in breeding sites(less barns, silos,etc.).

Found one 2 miles from home last year. Hadn't seen one before or since.

dennis

Michael
The only thing saving the publishers from the wrath of 280,000 Viking warriors is the fact that you can't buy this book in Iceland. Due to the tiny population there are very few foreign bird books in Icelandic, the last one was the Roger Tory Peterson guide and even that's long out of print. Icelandic birders just read the English versions although one of my friends has been mulling over translating Collins into Icelandic. A labour of love because he sure as hell won't make any money out of it. As a result many Icelandic birders don't know the Icelandic names for birds elsewhere in Europe, even though they know the bird, its English and scientific names immediately. When three of us went to Extremedura this spring I was the only one who knew what Spanish Imperial Eagle was in Icelandic!!

E

Anyone interested, The World Owl Trust has a web page at www.owls.org . It is a charity based at Muncaster Castle at Ravensglass in the English Lake District. Well worth a visit if anyone's in the locality. They do a marvellous job in owl conservation worldwide.
There are about 50 species/subspecies held at the Centre and although visitors are welcome and encouraged, its main function is the conservation of owls and thir habitat. It is not a zoo.