Common barn owl
species of bird / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The common barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of owl in the genus Tyto. It is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. The barn owl family Tytonidae is one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical owls (Strigidae). It is known by many other names in different parts of the world, which is one of the problems with 'common names'. It is one of the main reasons Linnaeus invented his system of scientific naming.
Common barn owl | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Subclass: | |
Infraclass: | |
Superorder: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Subfamily: | |
Genus: | |
Species: | T. alba |
Binomial name | |
Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) | |
Synonyms | |
Strix alba Scopoli, 1769 |
This owl has long wings, a pale face, and a square-shaped tail. It lives in rural areas like farms and woodland. The barn owl has a wing span of 75–110 cm and its body length measures up to around 25–50 cm. It weighs between 187 and 800 grams.
Barn owls' breeding season is spring and it breeds in nests in trees. It eats small mammals, reptiles, fish, insects and smaller birds.