
CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
Marmalade is our Male
Hand Reared Barn
Owl.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed
species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds.
It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it
from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These
form one of the two living main lineages groups of owls, the
other being the typical owls (Strigidae). T. alba is found
almost anywhere in the world outside polar and desert
regions, as well as all of Asia north of the Alpide belt,
most of Indonesia, and the Pacific islands.
It is known by many other names, which may refer to the
appearance, call, habitat or the eerie, silent flight: White
Owl, Silver Owl, Demon Owl, Ghost Owl, Death Owl, Night Owl,
Rat Owl, Church Owl, Cave Owl, Stone Owl, Monkey-faced Owl,
Hissing Owl, Hobgoblin or Hobby Owl, Dobby Owl, Golden Owl,
Scritch Owl, Screech Owl, Straw Owl, Barnyard Owl and
Delicate Owl. "Golden Owl" might also refer to the related
Golden Masked Owl (T. aurantia). "Hissing Owl" and,
particularly in the USA, "screech owl" refer to the piercing
calls of these birds, but the latter term usually refers to
typical owls of the genus Megascops. The scientific name,
established by G.A. Scopoli in 1769, literally means "white
owl", from the onomatopoetic Ancient Greek tyto (τυτο)
for an owl—compare English "hooter"—and Latin alba, "white".
The Ashy-faced Owl (T. glaucops) was for some time included
in T. alba, and by some authors its Lesser Antilles
populations insularis and nigrescens still are. The Barn
Owls from the Indopacific region are sometimes separated as
Eastern Barn-owl, Australian Barn-owl or Delicate Barn-owl
(T. delicatula). While this may be warranted, it is not
clear between which races to draw the line between the two
species. Also, some island subspecies are occasionally
treated as distinct species. While all this may be
warranted, such a move is generally eschewed pending further
information on Barn Owl phylogeography
| Species |
Weight |
Hatch Date |
| |
|
|
|
Tyto Alba
|
t.b.c. |
02-05-2010 |
|