Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Barn owl
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
Barn owl (Tyto alba) Illustration of the head of a common barn owl, Tyto alba, showing its heart-shaped white face, dark eyes, and golden-brown feathers with small dark spots. Illustration of a common barn owl (Tyto alba) foot showing four toes with sharp, curved talons and feathered upper leg. A tan and white owl looking at the camera.
A barn owl's midnight hunt for food
strigiform
Quizzes
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Ultimate Animals Quiz
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
pigeon. pigeon and dove. member of the order Columbiformes, family Columbidae
Ultimate Bird Trivia Quiz
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Barn owl (Tyto alba)
Barn owl (Tyto alba) These birds of prey hunt mainly small rodents (such as mice and shrews), such as the mouse in the photograph.

Barn owl

bird
Also known as: Tyto, monkey-faced owl
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

Barn owl, any of several species of nocturnal birds of prey of the genus Tyto (family Tytonidae). Barn owls are sometimes called monkey-faced owls because of their heart-shaped facial disks and absence of ear tufts. They are about 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 inches) long, white to gray or yellowish to brownish orange. Their eyes are small in comparison with those of other owls and dark-colored. Barn owls hunt mainly small rodents (such as mice and shrews), often in cultivated land. They nest in hollow trees, buildings, towers, and old hawk nests.

Illustration of the head of a common barn owl, Tyto alba, showing its heart-shaped white face, dark eyes, and golden-brown feathers with small dark spots.
1 of 2
common barn owlHead of common barn owl (Tyto alba).
Illustration of a common barn owl (Tyto alba) foot showing four toes with sharp, curved talons and feathered upper leg.
2 of 2
common barn owlFoot of common barn owl (Tyto alba).

The common barn owl (T. alba) occurs worldwide except in Antarctica and Micronesia. Although many classifications still consider the common barn owl one species, the The American Ornithological Society separated barn owls into three species in 2024 based on differences in vocalization patterns and genetics between the groups—with the western barn owl (T. alba) inhabiting Europe, western Asia, and Africa, and the eastern barn owl (T. javanica) residing in South Asia and Australia. The geographic range of the third species, the American barn owl (T. furcata), spans North America and South America.

A tan and white owl looking at the camera.
1 of 2
barn owlCommon barn owl (Tyto alba).
A barn owl's midnight hunt for food
2 of 2
A barn owl's midnight hunt for foodA barn owl hunting a dormouse.
See all videos for this article

Other species occur only in the Old World. Many inhabit open grasslands. Some are called grass owls (such as the common grass owl, T. capensis, of India, the South Pacific, Australia, and South Africa).

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Britannica Quiz
Ultimate Animals Quiz
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.