Western Barn Owl

Also known as Tyto alba, Strix alba, common barn-owl, common barn owl, barnowl, white houlet, barn owl

species of bird

OverviewAI-generated

The Western Barn Owl, scientifically known as *Tyto alba*, is a species within the genus *Tyto*. It is also referred to by the short name *T. alba* and has been named after Malta. The organism is classified as a taxon and falls under the IUCN conservation status of Least Concern, a designation recorded in 2025.

This species is found across Africa and Europe. Physical characteristics include a wingspan of 0.9 and a mass of 580. Reproductive data indicates a litter size of 5.3, with a life expectancy of 4. The Western Barn Owl has received the award of Bird of the Year.

Synthesized by Vinony from 19 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, IUCN Red List, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

via IUCN

~28 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa. It was formerly considered a subspecies group together with barn owls native to other parts of the world, but this classification was found to be paraphyletic with respect to some other members of the genus.

The plumage on the head and back is a mottled shade of grey or brown; that on the underparts varies from white to brown and is sometimes speckled with dark markings. The facial disc is characteristically large and heart-shaped, with white plumage in most subspecies. This owl does not hoot, but utters an eerie, drawn-out screech.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Western Barn Owl” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.