Barn Owl, Tyto alba

Barn Owl, Tyto alba. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, February 2019.

Barn Owl, Tyto alba guatemalae. Bird photographed within Parque Nacional Cañón del Sumidero, Chiapas, March 2021. Photograph and identification courtesy of Marina Sutormina, Stockholm, Sweden.

The Barn Owl, Tyto alba, is a member of the Tytonidae Family of Barn Owls. They are medium in stature. They are found throughout Mexico. They are found in barns, cliffs, farms, groves, towns and woodlands in open or semi-open country lowlands. They are night time predators that have exceptional eyesight and hearing and prey upon mice and rats. They take take shelter during daylight hours. They are known for their rasping shrieks.

From a conservation perspective, the Barn Owl is currently categorized by the IUCN as Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations.