Tobin's StorySpecies: European Barn Owl
Hatched: 2003
Tobin was bred at the World Bird Sanctuary and is believed to be male. He was integrated into the education department in 2003. He has been hand raised by our staff to make him comfortable with humans.
Tobin was the first European Barn Owl flown by the World Bird Sanctuary. He was soon flying in programs. At first he was easily distracted due to age and inexperience. However, today he is a seasoned performer who is featured at many of our special events and programs.
Tobin is very popular with audiences and even our seasoned staff refers to him as "a cutie." However, he does have "attitude" when necessary.
Your donation will help to fund the cost of training, housing, and caring for this popular member of our Education Department, as well as supplying him with his favorite food: mouse tidbits!
To adopt Tobin, simply click our donation button, make a donation of $100 and specify in your payment notes: Adopt-a-bird: TOBIN. Also include your name, phone number, and mailing address so that we can send you your adoption materials!
Every donation helps to feed, house, and provide medical care for the bird of your choice! Adopt-A-Bird Parents Receive:
- *A personal visit with the bird you adopt!!!!! Call 636-861-3225 to set up a time for
- your personal visit.
- * Certificate of Adoption
- * Color photo of the bird you've adopted
- * Sponsorship Card
- * One year's subscription to Mews News (our quarterly newsletter)
- * Life History and Natural History of the bird
- * 10% Discount off WBS merchandise
- * Invitation to Sponsors-only events like Camera Day
- * Discounts on WBS Special Events
- * WBS Decal
Natural History
European barn owl
Tyto alba alba
Description medium sized owl, smaller and lighter in color than American cousin; long, sparsely feathered legs; rounded head without ear tufts; heart shaped facial disk has white feathers surrounded with a brownish edge; beak off white, long, and compressed; rounded wings and a short tail; back tawny brown, marked with black and white spots; underside grayish white with brown spots; one of the few owls with completely dark eyes; feet yellowish-white to grayish-brown; downy feathers and fringed wing feathers give silent flight; asymmetrical ear location—one ear higher on one side of the head than the other which allows them to triangulate sound for hunting
Sex: both sexes similar in size and color, with females tending to be larger, heavier, and darker in color than males; females and juveniles generally more densely spotted; sexually mature at 1 year; mate for life
Age: high mortality rate in the first year; average age of a wild barn owl is 2 years; few adults live beyond 3-4 years; captive birds have a much longer lifespan
Length: 16” Wingspan: 2.5’ Weight: 9-13 oz.
Habitat: prefers open land, prairies, grasslands and agricultural area for hunting; nest in natural hollows in trees, cliffs, caves, nestboxes, barns and other structures
Status: European Barn Owl populations have been declining severely in much of their range. Due to loss of nesting habitat, only about 2,000 pairs remain in the wild in Britain
Range: British Isles, western France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and countries bordering the Mediterranean
Behavior: breeding season is March through October; mating and courtship involve a great deal of chasing and screaming; nest is a scrape lined with pellets and debris; not extremely territorial; can nest within ½ mile of other pairs; 4-6 solid white eggs (occasionally as many as 12); female lays one egg every 2-3 days, but starts incubating immediately hence there may be as much as two to three weeks difference in the age of chicks in the same brood; generally 3-4 young survive; incubation period 29-45 days; young fledge at 7-10 weeks, but do not leave the area until 3-5 months old; breeding pair may lay a second clutch of eggs when the young start to leave the area; in addition to hunting from a perch they are also known to fly low over open fields in a quartering flight pattern to locate small rodents in their runs
Diet: majority of prey is small rodents , but will also hunt birds, fish, reptiles and insects
Vocalization: does not hoot; communicates with grunts, raspy hisses and drawn out hissing screams; male’s courtship call is a shrill repetitive twittering; adults returning to a nest give a low, frog-like croak; when disturbed at the roost or nest it makes hissing and rasping noises along with snapping sounds known as bill snapping
√ Common nicknames: ghost owl, monkey faced owl, white owl, night owl, Sweetheart Owl, church owl
No comments:
Post a Comment