Barn owls are found throughout North America and adapt well to
living in close proximity to humans. They tend to be found in warmer, drier climates; on the Palouse
they thrive in the summer but are at the edge of their winter range.
Their thinner feathering and long, unfeathered toes and legs leave them
susceptible to cold temperatures and they often have difficulty with
Pullman winters, many will not survive if it stays very cold for
long particularly if a heavy snow cover protects their primary prey
- mice.The majority of their diet is small rodents. They are quite particular
to this prey source and often will not take other food, even when faced
with starvation. Growing Barn Owls can eat 4 to 6 mice per bird each
night and it is not uncommon for a pair to raise 4 – 5 young to
fledging. Since adults also need 2 to 3 mice for themselves each
night, while working so hard to feed their young, these owls are very valuable for keeping rodent
populations in check.
Barn Owls have the greatest number of vocalizations of all our owls, but
most are quiet noises made at the nest. The sounds you are most likely
to hear include hisses, screeches and bill clapping though they also
twitter softly, coo, and chirp.
Barn Owls have often been considered the ghosts of haunted
houses, barns and old castles. Their nocturnal habits, soundless
flight, white underside and eerie screeches can easily conjure up
the impression of a ghost surveying its domain.
