What is a barn owl. The habitat of the common barn owl, the habits and food of the owl. Nocturnal lifestyle

The barn owl is an owl with an unusual appearance. Don't believe me - look at her face! It was as if a white mask was put on the bird's head. What is hidden underneath?

In the scientific world, this owl is called tyto alba. Where does the common barn owl live?

It can be found on all continents of the Earth, except Antarctica, because even birds with such plumage as an owl will not be able to withstand the severe cold of the glacial continent. In our country, these owls can be seen only in the Kaliningrad region.

Some scientists call the barn owl an owl with the face of a monkey. Indeed, there is some similarity ... People call this bird a ghostly owl, a night owl, a screeching owl. When did the barn owl manage to earn so many nicknames? This question, perhaps, can only be answered by folk legends.


What is remarkable about the appearance of a barn owl?

These birds reach a length of about 40 centimeters. The wings when unfolded are one meter in size.

Above, the bird is painted in reddish tones with ashy blotches and dark spots. The abdomen is white with some yellow streaks. The head of the barn owl is round, the muzzle has a flattened appearance and white plumage. The animal's eyes are very large and expressive. In a word, the appearance of the barn owl is quite memorable, especially if you unexpectedly meet it in the forest at twilight.

By the way, for this habit, people called her a ghostly owl, because she flies up almost silently, and then sharply appears in front of a person. The ghost Casper is just a childish joke compared to this bird's antics!


Common barn owl lifestyle and diet

Like all owls, the common barn owl is a true winged predator. She flies out to hunt in the dark. Special auditory receptors and silent flight give this bird incredible advantages in night hunting. During the day, the owl prefers to sleep in the cool and shade. She settles in a tree so that she cannot be seen.


The barn owl is a crepuscular and nocturnal predator.

The diet of this nocturnal bird includes field birds, small birds, hamsters,. If the barn owl noticed a prey, then that one cannot get away from the keen eyes and keen hearing of the predator. The owl grabs the victim right on the fly, clamps it with its tenacious claws and carries it to a place where it can safely eat it.

How does the reproduction of common barn owls

A male is looking for a nesting place for these birds. When he has found a suitable "site" for the construction of the nest, he begins loud cries call the female to see if this place is suitable for incubating future chicks. If the female agrees with the choice of the gentleman, then they start mating.


The female barn owl lays eggs in the built nest. Usually, a clutch consists of 4 to 6 eggs. The brooding process continues for a little more than a month. After the end of the incubation period, little owlets are born. They are covered with delicate white down. Little barn owl chicks look very funny and even awkward.

The barn owl is an unusual species of owls found on all continents except Antarctica; however, in our country, its range is limited only to the Kaliningrad region.

Habitat

Barn owls prefer open spaces, namely: meadows with tall grass, swamps and ravines, shores of water bodies and woodlands. Avoids mountainous areas and dense forests.

Appearance

The common barn owl is a relatively large bird, reaching 40 centimeters in size, its wingspan is slightly less than a meter. Poultry weight 200 - 700 grams, mostly about 500 grams.

The color of the barn owl is white-red, with darker specks and stripes. The plumage of this bird is very dense, thanks to which it can live in northern, rather cold regions.

barn owl bird photo

A striking feature that distinguishes the barn owl from other birds is that a white "mask" was put on its face. The expression of this "mask" is such that some researchers have nicknamed the barn owl "an owl with the face of a monkey." The popular names of the common barn owl are also known:

  • Midnighter;
  • Ghost Owl;
  • Shrieking owl.

barn owl in all its glory photo

These nicknames show that the barn owl in the old days was associated with something mystical. An eerie sensation is caused by the eyes of this owl, large and expressive.

Nutrition and lifestyle

Leads a solitary lifestyle, is active at night. Like all owls, the common barn owl is a predator. Its diet is based on small rodents - mice, voles, rats, gerbils, etc. In a particular region, certain species of edible animals prevail. If necessary, the barn owl catches frogs, bats, lizards and invertebrates.

barn owl in flight

She flies out to hunt in the dark, and during the day she sleeps in a cozy nest, which is a hollow, a hole, an attic or other suitable place. The barn owl does not build nests as such. Sometimes it occupies the empty nests of other birds. Silent flight and extremely keen hearing help the barn owl navigate the terrain and hunt.

night hunting barn owl photos

The bird's eyesight is also strong, thanks to which it sees well in the dark. The barn owl seizes its prey on the fly with sharp claws and takes it somewhere to a convenient place where you can safely eat it.

Reproduction

A male usually looks for a place for a “family nest”. This is usually a hollow, rotten tree stump, or old nests. birds of prey... Having found one, he calls the female in a loud voice. After the formation of the family, she lays 4 - 6 eggs, and incubates them for a little more than a month. All this time the male brings her food.

barn owl chicks photo

Chicks hatch covered with delicate white fluff. Male and female are feeding their babies. They are with their parents for another three months. They get up on the wing at the age of 50 days, then fly away and look for a new place of residence.

  • Comparison with monkeys is not only explained appearance birds. When the barn owl sees an approaching person, it rises higher, stands on long legs and sways on them to the left and right, depicting various grimaces. So she tries to scare the uninvited guest. Why not a monkey? If a person gets too close, the barn owl usually flies away.
  • The habit of the barn owl is known - it silently approaches a person from behind and suddenly appears right in front of him. At this point, anyone will be frightened, especially if the meeting took place at dusk. knows how to loudly click his beak. All this only intensifies the feeling of horror in an unprepared observer.

Life span

V wildlife barn owl lives for about 2 years.

  • Class - Birds
  • Squad - Owls
  • Family - Barn owl
  • Genus - Barn owls
  • Species - Common barn owl

(Tyto alba). Owl detachment, Barn owl family. Habitat - Australia, Asia, America, Africa. Wingspan 95 cm.Weight 450 g.

The common barn owl is one of the most common among barn owls. It is easy to distinguish from other relatives by the heart-shaped facial disc. Her facial disc is snow-white; a reddish tint is noticeable around the eyes. The feathers of the wings and back are pale beige; decorated with small gray-blue spots and white dots.

This owl can be found in Africa, America and Asia. They do not stretch south in autumn. They can live in the same place for years. At the same time, they do not get fat by winter. Therefore, barn owls are more comfortable somewhere in Africa than in Siberia. There have been cases when in especially harsh winters birds died from the cold. In areas with a mild climate, chicks are sometimes bred twice a year. They feed them in autumn and even at the beginning of winter. There would be more food - all kinds of rodents.

Representatives of this family are found everywhere with the exception of Antarctica and New Zealand. In total, ornithologists count 11 species of barn owls. They can be distinguished from normal owls (purely visually, without anatomical comparisons) by their whitish facial disc - in owls (except for polar ones) it is much darker. Barn owls nest in tree hollows, willingly settle near human habitation, and often breed chicks right in buildings. These predators feed on mouse-like rodents, shrews, and occasionally hunt small birds and reptiles. For the most part, they lead a sedentary lifestyle, although they often wander in search of favorable feeding conditions. In clutch there are 6 to 8 eggs (record -14), which are incubated by the female. The incubation process is very long - more than a month. The chicks spend twice as much time in the nest until they fully fledge and stand on the wing.

The voice of the common barn owl is rather hoarse. For him, these owls were called barn owls. If you are lucky enough to see a barn owl in the wild, it is unlikely that she will be happy with you - it will begin to swing from side to side and click its beak quite loudly - it will scare you. In addition to these sounds, barn owls can make a hiss. During the breeding season, males screech, snore and hoot. Barn owls fly silently. Flight feathers extinguish sharp eddies of air. They hunt at night. Sleep in the afternoon. Usually in hollows, but they can climb into the old tower and under the roof of an abandoned house. The chicks who have risen on the wing begin to suffer from a passion for vagrancy. Sometimes they fly away from the nest very far - they are looking for their plots for housing.

General characteristics and field signs

The small size, slender constitution is a nocturnal bird. Has a characteristic light facial disc of a cordate, almost triangular shape. Feather ears are missing. The body color is dominated by pale gray and dark buffy tones. The plumage of the underside of the body is most often of a pale ocher tint with small brown specks. The upper body is darker. The color of the plumage shows geographic variability. Birds living in the west of Europe have more brown tones in the plumage color, in the south - reddish, in the east - lighter. Sometimes individuals are pure white with dark streaks and spots. It inhabits mainly in settlements, less often in forests.

Description

Coloring. Differences in the color of the plumage of males and females, both in young and in adult birds, are not observed. Females are darker than males (Voinstvensky, 1984). In adult birds, the upper side of the body is painted in a pale gray color with dark brownish and white spots, the lower side of the body is of a reddish-buffy shade with whitish and brownish streaks and specks. The wings are dark with a reddish-brown tone. Flight feathers are darkish, with a rusty-ocher tinge and with a transverse streaky fine pattern. Tail feathers are red with dark stripes along the edges and a grayish-white top. Feathers of the ventral side are whitish-red, with a brown speck at the apices. The feathers of the facial disc are mostly white, and the marginal feathers surrounding the disc are tinged with a reddish tint, which gives the facial disc a more strict outline.

Unlike other owl species, barn owl chicks have two full downy plumage. For the first two weeks, the chicks wear their first downy outfit in pure white. The second downy outfit, in contrast to the mesoptile of the owls living with us, is also predominantly white, with a slight yellowish tinge on the ventral side and grayish on the dorsal (Dement'ev, 1951).

Structure and dimensions

Wing formula: II-I-III-IV-V, helmsman 12. Dimensions (in mm): body length 332-393, wingspan - 900-980, wing length - 270-300, tail - 120-137, beak - 19-21, tarsus - 55-59. Weight 300-355 g (Dementyev, 1951; Voinstvensky, Kyutyayuvsky, 1952). The tarsus is relatively long. The inner and middle fingers are the same length. In adult birds, the claw of the middle finger along the inner edge has notches (a feature of the family). The grayish-yellow beak is relatively long, but weak and slightly curved at the end. The eyes are relatively small, with a dark brown iris.

Molting

Not studied enough. The change of plumage occurs in the following sequence: the first downy outfit - the second downy outfit - the first annual outfit and subsequent feather changes (Dementyev, 1951). The first molt of the wing and tail of young birds lasts three years. One of characteristic features species - the absence of strict regularity in the timing of molting in general.

In Central European barn owls, a full molt cycle occurs within two years in three phases: first, the sixth feather of the hand falls out, then the proximal humeral flight feathers and 3-4 pairs of tail feathers are shed. In the second phase, almost all distal flight feathers and 5 proximal, humeral, descending wing feathers are replaced. In the third phase, the remaining proximal feathers and distal shoulder feathers renewed a year ago, the remnants of the first and second generation brush feathers are shed (Pichocki, 1974).

Subspecific taxonomy

One of the most polytypical species of the world's avifauna, which is associated with its almost cosmopolitan distribution. Up to 34 subspecies of barn owl are distinguished, most of them are island isolates (Eck and Busse, 1973; Stepanyan, 1975). Variability manifests itself in the size and color of birds. In Vost. Europe and North. Asia, 3 subspecies have been recorded (Ivanov et al., 1953; Stepanyan, 1975, 2003; Farafontov and Bakhtadze, 2003).

1.Tyto alba guttata

Strix guttata C.L. Brchm, 1831, Handb. Naturgesch. Vugcl Deutschl. p. 106, Ryugei, north-east. Germany.

It differs from the nominative race in a more gray upper and rusty lower parts of the body with a darker general color of plumage. The spots are sharper and more numerous.

2.Tyto alba alba

Strix alba Scopoli, 1769, Annus I Historico-Naturalis, c. 21, sowing. Italy.

It differs from the previous subspecies in a white underparts of the body, from subspecies erlangeri - in a more intense golden-brown-ocher coloration of the upper body with ash-gray fields.

3.Tyto alba erlangeri

Tyto alba erlangeri Sclater, 1921, Bull. Brit. Omith. Club., 42, p. 24, Aden area, South-West. Arabia.

It differs from the subspecies guttata in a white underside of the body with a pale ocher tint on the sides and a weak spotted pattern. The upper side of the body is lighter and less gray, with a golden tint. It differs from the nominative subspecies in a paler coloration.

Outside the region under consideration, the nominative subspecies inhabits Zap. Europe, Mediterranean, Asia Minor, subspecies, guttata - Center. Europe, erlangeri - North, -East. Africa, the Middle East, including Arabia and South. Iran.

Taxonomy notes

The Western Palaearctic with islands is inhabited by 7 subspecies, tropical Africa with islands - 4 subspecies, tropical Asia with islands - 4 subspecies, Australia and Oceania - 3 subspecies, America with islands - up to 16 subspecies. The indigenous form from Haiti and the adjacent islands is now usually distinguished as a separate species of T. glaucops on the basis of the lack of hybridization with the introduced races of the barn owl (Dickinson, 2003), sometimes races from some of the Lesser Antilles are referred to the same species (Bruce, 1999) ...

The findings of nesting and migratory barn owls made in recent years in the Caucasus and southern Ukraine suggest that the recently begun dispersal to the north of the Mediterranean group of "light" subspecies of this owl. Male caught in 2001 in the env. Mineralnye Vody, on the basis of comparison with collection materials, was assigned to the nominative subspecies, previously not registered in the territory under consideration (Farafontov and Bakhtadze, 2003). At the same time, the bird caught in Anapa (S. A. Bukreev, pers. Comm.) Had a pronounced golden tint on the underside of the body, which brings it closer to the subspecies guttata. However, given the existence of two color morphs in many subspecies of the barn owl, this individual may turn out to be a rare golden morph T. a. alba.

Spreading

Nesting area. South., Center, and North. America north to the southwest border. parts of British Columbia, North. Dakota, southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, then the Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles, Galapagos, Tierra del Fuego. Africa except for the Sahara and humid equatorial forests. Islands of the Gulf of Guinea, Madagascar, Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde. In the Mediterranean - the Balearic Islands, Malta, Sicily, Crete, Corsica, Sardinia, Cyprus. Arabian Peninsula, India and Indochina west to Baluchistan, north to Nepal and North. Burma, Kashmir. Sri Lanka Islands, Andaman Islands, Malacca Peninsula, Java, Small Sunda Islands, southeast. part of New Guinea and some oceanic islands. Australia. In Europe, the area of ​​distribution of the species covers the territory from the Atlantic coast to the West. Latvia and from the Baltic Sea coast to the south, including the Mediterranean, Great Britain and Denmark (Fig. 19).

Figure 19.
a - nesting area. Some subspecies: 1 - T. a. guttata, 1 - T. a. alba, 3 - T. a. erlangeri, 4 - T. a. emesti, 5 - T. a. schmitzi, 6 - T. a. gracilirostris, 7 - T. a. detort a, 8 - T. a. affinis.

In Vost. Europe and North. Asia, the area of ​​distribution of the barn owl includes the west. Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus (west of Brest and Grodno regions), Ukraine (west and Center, regions, east to Kherson and Poltava regions), Middle Moldova (Dementyev, 1951; Fedyushin, Dolbik, 1967; Stepanyan, 1975; Averin et al., 1981; Baumanis et al., 1983; Voinstvensky, 1984; Nikiforov et al., 1997) (Fig. 20).

Figure 20.
a - nesting area, b - insufficiently clarified border of the nesting area, c - nesting outside the range, d - fly-overs. Subspecies: 1 - T. a. guttata, 2 - T. a. alba, 3 - T. a. erlangeri.

In recent years, information has begun to come in about the sightings and even nesting of barn owls in the Caucasus and Ciscaucasia. In particular, in 2001 the barn owl nesting was noted in the env. the village of Grecheskoye, located 25–30 km northwest of the town of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory (Farafontov, Bakhtadze, 2003). In 1998, the barn owl nested on the outskirts of Anapa (Krasnodar Territory), and in 2003 - in the West. Georgia (Boukreev, in press). In autumn and winter, barn owls were recorded in Crimea and Zaporozhye oblast. (Domashevsky, 1993; Appak, 2001; Koshelev, Belashkov, 2002).

Migrations

Like most other species of owls, the barn owl is predominantly sedentary. However, sometimes it migrates tens and hundreds of kilometers from the nesting site. Most often, migrations are made by young individuals, which do not remain at the place of birth, but fly off to other areas. This phenomenon is known as juvenile dispersal. For example, in Denmark and Sweden, 14 (30%) of ringed barn owls were found further than 60 km from the ringing site (Frylestam, 1972).

The farthest returns were recorded in the USA from a distance of 640 km (Keith, 1964) and in West. Europe - 140-660 km (Schneider, 1964). The dispersal of young barn owls begins in September and continues until mid-November, and birds from early broods migrate a greater distance from the place of birth than from later ones (Glutz, 1979). The range of movements and directions of migrations of young barn owls is influenced by natural geographical barriers (seas, mountains), which they avoid. There are cases of barn owl invasions in other areas where they have not previously been encountered. Thus, F. Ressel (Ressel, 1963) reports on the massive appearance of the Mediterranean barn owl in Austria in the second half of November 1962 and the death of most of the birds due to the harsh winter conditions from exhaustion, cold and disease.

There are also migrations of old birds, which they make in search of food, sometimes at a distance of up to 400 km from the nest (Schneider, 1964).

Habitat

The barn owl settles mainly in settlements. It nests mainly in abandoned buildings, towers, in attics of buildings and structures rarely visited by people, and in places where food is abundant (small mammals). Often inhabits light forests in valleys and hills near settlements and agricultural buildings (granaries, livestock farms) (Dementyev, 1951; Fedyushin, Dolbik, 1967; Averin et al., 1981; Voinstvensky,

1984). In Holland and England, the barn owl often nests in tree hollows. In Switzerland, it readily populates nest boxes installed under the ceiling of sheds and between the rafters of the roofs of outbuildings. Cases of nesting of this owl in the walls of the rocks have been noted (Bezzel, 1957). In mountainous areas, it occurs up to heights of 600-700 m above sea level. (Schneider, 1964). In the Carpathians, the barn owl penetrates the river valleys up to an altitude of 300-400 m above sea level. (Strautman, 1963).

Number

The habitat of the species on the territory of Vost. Europe and North. Asia is located on the northeastern edge of the range, which is probably associated with the rare and sporadic distribution of the barn owl here. In recent years, there has been a widespread decline in the number of this species. So, at present, the barn owl has not been found nesting in Latvia, and in Belarus and Ukraine it has become less common than before. In Chisinau (Moldova) until the 1960s. 30-50 barn owls lived (Averin et al., 1971). In recent years, the number of places where barn owls betray their presence with voices and flights in the light of street lamps has significantly decreased.

In the Netherlands, for example, the number of barn owls decreased from 3,000 to 300-500 pairs, in England the downward trend in numbers has been going on for more than 10 years, in Germany the species is included in the national Red Book, in the USA - in the Audubon Society's Blue List for birds with signs of a reduction in the area or populations (Lawton, 1967; Gussinklo, Fuchs, 1977; Ruge, 1977; Kale, 1978). The decrease in the number of barn owls is associated with the economic transformation of the territory, with the use of pesticides, a decrease in the number of places suitable for nesting, unfavorable weather conditions, especially during heavy snow and severe winters (Dementyev, 1951; Buhler, 1977). According to V. Holmgren (Holmgren, 1983), the species is characterized by a relatively high mortality rate of young birds. This circumstance, apparently, also plays an important role in the decrease in the number of this species.

In the barn owl, like in other owls, fluctuations in the size of the clutch are observed and the total depending on the density of murine rodents (Dementyev, 1951; Tayetarinov, 1960; Schonfeld, Girbig, 1975).

Reproduction

Nutrition

Like other mouse-eating owls, the barn owl feeds and feeds its chicks mainly on mouse-like rodents, less often on shrews, birds and insects. In some cases, the remains of amphibians and bats are found in pellets of barn owls (Voinstvensky, 1984; Radu, 1984). In Transcarpathia, from rodents (58% of all caught animals), the barn owl most often catches the gray vole (36%), shrews make up only 25% of food, birds ( house sparrow) - 15% and insects - 1%. In a very small number, the barn owl preys bats, weasel, and from amphibians - garlic. In dry years and poor in mouse-like rodents, this owl here feeds mainly on house sparrows (40%) (Tatarinov, 1960). The high importance of amphibians and birds in the food of barn owls in years of low numbers of small rodents is also indicated by G.P. Dementyev (1951) and A.I. Ivanov et al. (1953).

In the diet of barn owls in the settlements of Czechoslovakia, rodents make up 75.2%, insectivorous mammals - 22.4%, bats - 0.2%, birds - 2.3%. Of the rodents, the common vole (58.6%) and the house mouse (6.5%) predominate, and the common shrew (16.3%) of the insectivores. The share of gray voles is minimal in summer (65%) and maximal in autumn (93.2%), while the share of common shrews is maximal in spring (9.6%) and minimal in autumn (2.2%) (Stastny, 1973). It should be noted that these groups of animals are present in the diet of the barn owl almost throughout the entire range of the species (Schmidt, 1973; Trost and Hutchison, 1963; Dean, 1973). However, the ratio of prey species in the prey of this owl differs not only on different continents, but also within each of them. In most of the territory of Zap. In Europe, the barn owl feeds mainly on the common vole, and in Great Britain, on the dark vole, a background species of small rodents. It was noted that owls living in Central Europe more often eat gray voles (28.9-45.4%) and shrews (10.7-23.9%), in the South. Scandinavia and Ukraine - house mice (22.1-34.2%), and in the South. Europe - shrew (23.3-33.0%), wood and field mice (13.6-33.5%) (Schmidt, 1973).

The food of the barn owl becomes the more diverse, the more abundant various small animals are found in its habitats. Often the objects of hunting of this owl are gray rats, rabbits, weasels, muskrats, squirrels, large beetles and moths.

Seasonal quantitative and qualitative changes in the food of barn owls largely correspond to their ratios in nature. In winter and during spring migration, the owl feeds more often on birds. In Chisinau, for example, during the indicated periods, the barn owl regularly hunts the sparrows that sleep in the crowns of trees (Averin et al., 1971). In some years in Germany, 81% of the food of the barn owl in the spring consists of birds, with 50% of the house sparrow (Gomer, 1978).

An interesting feature in the behavior of a barn owl during feeding is described by Yu. B. Pukinsky (1977). As he notes, the owl does not take food in its paw and does not bring it to its beak, as other owls do, but, having killed the mouse with its claws, tears it apart with its beak, first swallowing the front part of the body piece by piece. This gives the impression that the owl grimaces while eating. It turns out that the feathers of the facial disc move in sync with the movements of the beak, giving her “face” different expressions.

During the nesting period, barn owls feed on small mouse-like rodents and partially on large insects: May beetles, hawk moths and other nocturnal species. Chicks are fed almost exclusively (97%) by small rodents (Godin, 1975). In the food of chicks and young birds, a significant proportion are young animals. Surplus prey accumulates on the nests (on average, up to 58%) - especially during the period when chicks are up to 20 days old. This is more common in the “mouse years” (Saint, 1964; Baudvin, 1980). This is confirmed by the fact that the barn owl kept in the aviary, out of 255 small rodents (house mouse, hamsters) released to it, were all killed in one night, but only 107 animals were eaten entirely, 16 partially, and the rest were hidden "in reserve" (Kaufman, 1973).

The success of hunting in the barn owl, like in other owls, depends on many factors, primarily on the number of small mammals. An important role in this is played by the noisiness of the biotope by various sounds (noise of wind, rain, etc.). On quiet, windless nights, the noise level is minimal and reaches 32-35 dB. At this time, barn owls are most active and successful in hunting (Ilyichev, 1975).

The barn owl, like other owls, is well adapted to passive location, which allows it to determine the angular location of its prey with an accuracy of 1 ° even in complete darkness (Payne, 1971). During the hunt, the owl uses both a method of tracking prey from a perch (more often under unfavorable conditions), and a method of searching for a prey by flying at low altitude, followed by hovering in the air and throwing.

The barn owl eats about 100 g of food per day - the live weight of the victims, and at a time - an average of 55 g (Schmidt, 1977; Ritter, Gomer, 1980). Under natural conditions, an owl consumes food weighing an average of 10% of its own body weight. When kept in a zoo, the daily requirement is from 150 to 240 g (Eck, Busse, 1973).

Enemies, adverse factors

Under normal conditions of existence, the enemies of barn owls are feathered predators (goshawk, eagle owl) and predatory mammals (marten, ferret). Since the barn owl is active at twilight and at night, attacks on it by daytime birds of prey are extremely rare. As noted by O. Uttenderfer (O. Uttendorfer, cited in: Schneider, 1964), out of 23 cases of barn owl hunting by birds of prey, only 5 fell on the goshawk and 2 on the owl. In the settlements of Moldova, in some years, barn owl eggs and chicks are destroyed by the stone marten.

Like many bird species, mortality in barn owls is highest in the first year of life, and in subsequent years it decreases. Mortality in the first year of life reaches 64%, in the second - 54% (Schneider, 1964).

Economic value, security

The barn owl feeds almost exclusively on murine rodents. The main target of prey is the gray vole - one of the main pests in agriculture... During the hunt, the barn owl often visits orchards, fields and vegetable gardens near settlements, where it hunts a large number of small rodents that harm field and garden crops, orchards.

However, this bird does not have much practical value in view of the limited distribution and low abundance, which continues to decline at the present time. As a rare, declining species, the barn owl is under state protection in many countries. So, for example, this species is included in the Red List of Birds in Germany and the corresponding documents of other countries. The barn owl is listed in the Red Data Books of Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova

To increase the number of the barn owl in its habitats, it is advisable to improve the conditions for nesting by placing artificial nests, which it willingly populates. The species reproduces successfully in captivity. Artificial nests for barn owls are wooden boxes 100 × 50 × 50 cm in size with a 12 × 15 cm notch in the upper corner of the side wall, which are placed in the attics of houses and other buildings. In severe and snowy winters, bird feeding is organized.

The barn owl is well known to the inhabitants of Western European countries, however, little is known about it in Russia. This is the most ancient branch of the order of owls. Its Latin name sounds like Tyto alba, and its English name is Barn owl. The people called her a night owl, a ghostly and screaming owl. Its distinctive features are its distinctive voice and head shape. Who is the barn owl, and what kind of life does she lead? Let's talk in more detail in this article about one of the most common owls in the world.

Barn owl: description

The name of this apparently came from the peculiarity of her voice, reminiscent of a kind of snoring or vulture. It differs from other representatives of owls in the shape of a face disc in the form of a heart, while it seems that she is wearing a white mask. The small bird has a light color and a peculiar face. It is about the same size as a long-eared owl or jackdaw. Its length reaches 33-39 cm, its body weight is 300-355 g, and its wingspan is about 90 cm. By the way, its weight can vary widely and depends individually on a particular individual. It can be either 180 g or 700 g.

In the upper part, its color has acquired a sandy (red) color with white and dark specks. The barn owl is white in the lower part (less often yellow), in addition to this, dark blotches are present in the plumage. The facial disc is light and has a flattened appearance, it also has an ocher border, there is a small area of ​​red feathers under the eyes. The wings are pale white, with a golden streaky pattern. - dark brown or black. Her eyes are expressive and large. She has a slender physique, and she also has long legs, which have thick and fluffy plumage up to the toes. She has a short tail. The beak is yellowish white. By the way, the color of the lower part depends on the habitat of the barn owl. For example, in North Africa, Western and Southern Europe, in the Middle East it is white, but in the rest of Europe it is yellow-orange.

By gender, outwardly, they practically do not differ from each other. Females are slightly darker, but this is not particularly noticeable. Young chicks also do not differ from adults, sometimes they are more variegated.

As we noticed, such a bird as a barn owl has a very memorable appearance, the photo clearly demonstrates this to us.

Habitat

The common barn owl is 35 subspecies, which are distributed across all continents, excluding only Antarctica, they are also found on the islands. Previously, it could be found in the Baltic States and other CIS countries: now it lives there in small numbers. On the territory of Russia, it is found only in the Kaliningrad region. In the European part, it is absent in the northern regions and mountain ranges.

On the one hand, the common barn owl is adapted to various geographical conditions, as it is distributed almost everywhere, and on the other hand, it does not have the ability to accumulate fat reserves in itself, therefore it does not tolerate the harsh climate. In the northern regions of the United States and in most of Canada, in Northern Europe and practically throughout the territory of Russia, for this reason, it does not exist. The bird cannot live in African and Asian deserts either.

There were cases when a barn owl was artificially populated by humans in areas where it had never been. Thus, she appeared in the Seychelles and Hawaiian Islands, in New Zealand. After the barn owl was settled in the Seychelles, the population of the kestrel, which it fed on, began to decline.

Favorite places to stay

The barn owl almost always settles near human dwellings. It nests in both large cities and countryside... Likes to settle in attics, in hollows and wall niches. Prefers rooftops and abandoned buildings. Most often, the barn owl is found in open plains where there are few trees. These can be places such as woodlands, swamps, dense meadows, birds also live along wastelands, reservoirs, ravines and highways.

It can often be found where agricultural farms and human habitations are located. The barn owl tries to avoid dense forests and mountainous areas. For this bird, the following conditions for distribution are necessary: ​​availability of food, the absence of cold winters and weak competition with other predators. Basically, they do not change their habitat, exceptions are situations when the food supply in their habitat is depleted.

What does he eat?

Her most favorite food is mouse-like rodents, she can also cope with a herd (large She can catch up to 15 mice per night. small birds, in particular, sparrows, as well as large and amphibious insects. Rats, voles, hamsters, shrews, opossums can be used as food. They can also catch bats, frogs, reptiles and invertebrates. The owl grabs the victim right on the fly, clamps it with its tenacious claws and carries it to a place where it can safely eat it.

The peculiarities of the location of the hearing aid allow the bird to catch all the sounds that the prey makes, which helps it a lot when hunting. Her ears have an asymmetrical arrangement: one of them is at the level of the nostrils, and the other is in the forehead.

The characteristic voice of a barn owl

She lets out a husky, whispering rattling sound. Barn owls defiantly flap their wings and snap their beaks. By the way, this feature of them can inevitably terrify people who decided to relax in the forest silence and met with her. Many sounds have been noted made by this owl, but still the predominant one is a hoarse squealing trill, which can be heard during its flight. The cry of a female barn owl is lower in tone.

By the way, she got her Russian for a low, rattling, hoarse cry that sounds like "heee". They publish it more often than the usual hooting of an owl. Her peculiar hoarse voice resembles a hoarse cough.

Nocturnal lifestyle

She flies out to hunt in late twilight and is strictly nocturnal. As a rule, they live alone, but can be found in small groups in places of congestion of game. Since barn owls lead at night, they sleep off during the day. For sleeping, they choose some kind of niche, natural or artificial - it can be a hole in the ground or an unused attic.

During the hunt, they change their altitude - they go up, then go down again, flying around the property. They can also wait for a victim, hiding in ambush. Their wings are arranged in such a way that their flight turns out to be as quiet and soft as possible, besides, they have excellent eyesight and hearing. By the way, in some regions, barn owls hunt during the day, for example, in Britain, but at this time of day they are in danger in the form of birds of prey, such as seagulls.

The barn owl kills its prey with its claws, then steps on it with a long leg and tears it apart with its beak. It has a very mobile neck, due to which it can eat prey, practically without bending over. During a meal, the feathers of the facial disc move, and it seems that the owls are grimacing.

Reproduction

The barn owl is usually monogamous, but cases of polygamy are also not excluded. One, rarely two clutches occur per year. The start of the breeding season usually depends on climatic conditions habitats and the amount of food. In warmer regions and where there is a lot of food, they can breed at any time of the year. For example, in the temperate zone of Europe or North America, it begins in March-June. If re-clutching takes place, then hatching of chicks will take place during the period March-May and June-August.

The male himself chooses the place where the nest will be, and then begins to call the female. As such, the nest is not built; for this, a closed and dark place is chosen. This can be a recess in an old stump, a hollow of a tree, and other niches. The female is engaged in incubating eggs, while the male brings her food. The nest is located at a height of 2-20 meters above the ground, the clutch size is usually 4-7 eggs, but can be from 2 to 14. There are more of them, as a rule, in periods characterized by an abundance of food. The size of eggs, which are white or cream colored, averages 30-35 mm.

During the breeding season, birds make various sounds. They shriek and hoarsely scream, hoot and sniff, making a characteristic "heee" sound. The rest of the time, as a rule, owls are silent. The female incubates eggs for about a month. Juveniles fly out of the nest at 50-55 days of life.

By the way, a pair of owls remains together until the death of one of the partners. The female and the male live close to each other, but separately.

Behavior in times of danger

In a calm state, a sitting barn owl keeps its body straight, and if the bird is worried, it takes a threatening pose - spreads its paws, spreads its wings in a horizontal plane and sticks to the ground. When she meets the violator of her territorial possessions, she actively flaps her wings, coming closer and closer to the enemy. Loudly hisses and clicks beak. If this does not help, then she attacks the enemy, falling on his back and striking blows with clawed paws.

Barn owl chicks

The hatched chicks are completely dependent on their parents, who feed them in turn. At birth, they are covered with thick white down. In the event that it is very cold, the barn owl does not leave the nest at all and warms the chicks, which become completely independent after three months. Grown chicks fly away to new places and find themselves another territory for habitation and reproduction. A barn owl can even have 10 chicks at a time, if conditions allow, but in a hungry year, as a rule, no more than 4 eggs are expected.

It is noted that the behavior of their chicks is not typical for birds: they show altruism, refusing food in favor of those who are more hungry than they are. In comparison with most other birds, in which the young literally rip out food from each other in order to feed themselves, this fact arouses great interest in such a bird as the barn owl. A photo of her chicks shows how they look when they are born.

Parents show concern even after their chicks fly out of the nest: they continue to care for and feed them until they become completely independent, that is, they do not reach the age of three months.

Attitude of people

The barn owl has always been a symbol of wisdom among people, but at the same time they treated this bird with superstitious fear. Now superstitions are a thing of the past, and people are increasingly showing genuine interest in it. Barn owls instilled fear on people because of some of their features: a white face resembling a mask, frightening sounds, and also because of the habit of this bird to fly up silently and sharply appear in front of a man, for which people called her a ghostly owl.

The barn owl mainly feeds on rodents, thereby benefiting humans. People have long appreciated the help of these owls in the destruction of pests. So, in the 17th century, such a practice spread, when special windows were made in houses, barns, mills and other buildings through which barn owls could penetrate and destroy rodents. In this way, the birds remained well-fed, and benefits were brought to man.

If they notice people nearby, they begin to behave very interestingly: they rise high, swing on their feet in different directions and at the same time depict various grimaces. If you come very close to it, then, as a rule, it flies away.

How long does a barn owl live?

Under natural conditions, barn owls can live up to 18 years, but this is the maximum figure. In fact, it turns out that they live mostly very short - their average life expectancy is about 2 years. Cases have been recorded when the barn owl was able to live in natural conditions for up to 17 years, in North America the bird in captivity died at the age of 11.5 years, but in England the record was broken - the bird lived in captivity for 22 years.

We talked about this interesting bird, like a barn owl, about what habits it has and how it is useful for humans. Unfortunately, due to changes in environment and the use of pesticides in various parts of Europe, the number of barn owls is declining. Also, cases of death of birds from collisions with cars on highways are not uncommon. Currently, the barn owl is a bird that is listed in the Red Data Books of a number of countries. of Eastern Europe, where, for some unknown reason, in recent decades, there has been a rapid decrease in its number.

 

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