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Barn Owl
Tyto alba
40.1672, -105.102
Field Notes
Description:
These medium-sized owls have long, rounded wings and short tails, which combine with a buoyant, loping flight to give them a distinctive flight style. The legs are long and the head is smoothly rounded, without ear tufts.
Barn Owls are pale overall with dark eyes. They have a mix of buff and gray on the head, back, and upperwings, and are white on the face, body, and underwings. When seen at night they can appear all white.
Habitat:
Barn Owls are the most widespread of all the owls and one of the most cosmopolitan birds around. They can be found living in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They are unable to survive in extreme polar regions due to the severity of winter weather and lack of food availability.
Barn Owls prefer to live in open areas where they can hunt, roost and nest. Barn Owls can be found in open lowlands with some trees, including farmlands, plantations, and urban areas, as well as various forest types, semiarid shrub lands, and even marshes.
Notes:
I had the pleasure of photographing this sleeping Barn Owl this evening, right before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Her refuge from the wind (80-100 mph gusts) was a tree growing inside of an old grain silo. It is always such an honor to see an owl in the wild.
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