American Barn Owl

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American Barn Owl by Nick Stroot / Macaulay Library

Owls

American Barn OwlTyto furcata

ORDER: Strigiformes
FAMILY: Tytonidae

Basic Description

Ghostly pale and normally strictly nocturnal, American Barn Owls are silent predators of the night world. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day. By night, they hunt on buoyant wingbeats in open fields and meadows. You can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy calls, quite unlike the hoots of other owls.

More ID Info

Year-roundBreedingMigrationNonbreeding

Range map provided by Birds of the World

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Find This Bird

Many people’s first sighting of an American Barn Owl is while driving through open country at night—a flash of pale wings in the headlights is usually this species. These owls also often live up to their name, inhabiting barns and other old, abandoned buildings, so keep an eye out for them there. American Barn Owls don’t hoot the way most other owls do; you can listen for their harsh screeches at night.

Other Names

Lechuza Común Americana (Spanish)
Effraie d'Amérique (French)

Backyard Tips

Consider putting up a nest box to attract a breeding pair. Make sure you put it up well before breeding season. Attach a guard to keep predators from raiding eggs and young. Find out more about nest boxes on our Attract Birds pages. You'll find plans for building a nest box of the appropriate size on our All About Birdhouses site.

Cool Facts
- In 2024, ornithologists split the widespread Barn Owl, found on every continent except Antarctica, into three species: American Barn Owl, Eastern Barn Owl, and Western Barn Owl. American Barn Owl is restricted to the Americas, Eastern Barn Owl occurs from South Asia to Australia, and Western Barn Owl is found in Europe, Africa, and western Asia.
- American Barn Owls swallow their prey whole—skin, bones, and all. About twice a day, they cough up pellets instead of passing all that material through their digestive tracts. The pellets make a great record of what the owls have eaten, and scientists study them to learn more about the owls and the ecosystems they live in.
- Barn owls have excellent low-light vision, and can easily find prey at night by sight. But their ability to locate prey by sound alone is the best of any animal that has ever been tested. They can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world.
- The oldest known American Barn Owl lived in Ohio and was at least 15 years, 5 months old when it died.