Barn Owl

The barn owl is one of the most widely distributed owl species in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica, easily recognized by its pale, heart-shaped facial disc, golden-buff upperparts and white underside. It hunts almost entirely at night, relying on extraordinarily acute hearing to locate small rodents moving in complete darkness beneath grass or snow, aided by an asymmetrical arrangement of its ear openings that allows it to pinpoint sound with remarkable precision, and it can fly almost silently thanks to specially adapted feathers. Barn owls nest in cavities in trees, cliffs, barns and other buildings, which gives the species its common name, and a single pair can consume thousands of rodents in a year, making them valuable for natural pest control in farmland. Though widespread, populations in some regions have declined due to loss of nesting sites and hunting habitat, and many farmers now install nest boxes to encourage the species.