Welcome to another article
about a resident of the World Bird Sanctuary!
His name is Barnaby and he
is a European Barn Owl AND the most adorable little barn owl I have ever
met! He was hatched at the World
Bird Sanctuary on April 21st, 2013. In the pictures following he is only two months old, but
full grown!
Barnaby getting a better
look at me.
Since this bird is so
young he does not as yet have a great deal of life history to share with
you. However, he is quickly
becoming a valuable member of our Education Department, and we expect great
things from him. For now suffice
it to say he has a great “Aaaww” factor.
Following are some of the
fascinating Natural History facts about his species:
There are over 200 species
of owls in the world and around 16 species, 5 subspecies, and 35 races of barn
owls. The five subspecies include New World, European, African, Australian, and
Asian. Of the European Barn
Owl, there are four races that include the British Barn Owl (Tyto alba alba), European Barn Owl (Tyto alba guttata), Madeiran Barn Owl (Tyto alba schmitzi), and Ernest’s Barn Owl (Tyto alba ernest).
European Barn Owls are found in Austria, Bulgaria, Crimea, Denmark,
Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. They are very adaptable birds that can make a home in
man-made dwellings such as barns, church steeples, and natural tree cavities
and caves. These cute little birds’
diets consist of small mammals such as bats, large insects, small birds, but
mostly mice and other small rodents.
Lifespan in the wild is
vastly different from in captivity.
Most animals usually live longer when they are cared for by people, than
caring for themselves in the wild.
Barn owls live around 2-5 years in the wild while in captivity they can
live into their early teens. A few
reasons why animals in the wild do not live as long includes predators, less
food available, predation, and accidental injuries, such as a vehicle
collision.
In reproduction, the
female will lay 4-6 round solid white eggs, sometimes more, in a clutch (group
of eggs or chicks). After 29-31
days of incubation during which the female sits on the eggs to keep them warm,
they will start to hatch.
The chicks will fledge the
nest around 7-10 weeks old, but will stick around for several months before
living on their own. Females are
generally a third larger than the male barn owls, as with most birds of
prey. Barnaby has a sister named
Peace that is a bit bigger than him.
If you would like to visit her, you can see her at the Environmental
Education Center.
European Barn Owls stand
at 8 inches tall, have a wingspan of 2 feet (24 inches), and weigh from 9 to 13
ounces. North American Barn Owls (Tyto
alba pratincola) are larger in
size than the Europeans. They
stand at 12-16 inches tall, have a wingspan of 3 feet (36 inches), and weigh
from 14 to 25 ounces.
Barnaby looking up at me
while clutching his tennis ball.
Barn Owls have the best
hearing of all birds of prey; because of their facial disks which funnel sounds
into their asymmetrically located ears flaps (one
ear flap is slightly higher than the
other). Their hearing is so great
that they can hear the patter of mouse feet from 90 feet away! In one year’s time, a single barn owl
can catch around 2,000 mice! That
is one awesome rodent controller!
Barnaby
happily standing on his perch in his enrichment area.
Barnaby
is available for adoption in our Adopt a Bird program. To find out more information, call
636-861-3225. All adoption
donations are tax deductible.
Submitted by Lisbeth Hodges, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist
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