Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Conservation Status: GREEN
Key Information
With a heart-shaped face, beige back and wings and pure white underparts, the Barn Owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Distribution is throughout the UK and the rest of the world. Barn Owls suffered a decline in numbers in the 20th century, a significant impact was the use of pesticides such as DDT in the 1950s and 1960s. Nocturnal birds like the Barn Owl are difficult to monitor and record via surveys but the population may have increased from the mid 1990's. Barn Owls are a Schedule 1 and 9 species, meaning it's illegal to intentionally or recklessly disturb them, and it's also illegal to release them into the wild in the UK.
Photo courtesty of Steve Gozdz - GG Wildlife Experiences
