Many of us here in Texas are familiar with the largest of the owls, the Great Horned Owl. Its “whoo-whoowhoo” song resounds throughout our Texas evenings. Some of us have even observed one of the smaller owls, the Burrowing Owl, which we will learn more about at a later date. Both species, while exquisitely marked in their own right, are typically colored in shades of dark brown. However, there is another, less common species that resides here in Texas that is colored quite a bit differently, and that species is the Barn Owl.
Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are medium sized birds of prey that have a body size maxing out at just under twenty inches in length. Their wingspan is quite impressive however, reaching just shy of four feet. Very distinctively colored, the Barn Owl is easily distinguishable from all other owls in this area.
The first distinctive feature is the white, heart-shaped face that is set apart by a thin, tawny colored edging.
