Western Barn Owl
Tyto alba
- Family
- Bay Owls and Barn Owls (Tytonidae)
- Order
- Strigiformes
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Continents
Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- DR Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mayotte
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Palestine
- Poland
- Puerto Rico
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Western barn owl
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
