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The barn owls (Tyto species, particularly Tyto alba) are the most widely distributed group of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The term may be used to describe:
"Hissing owl" and, particularly in the U.K. and in India, "screech owl" refer to the piercing calls of these birds. [10] The latter name is also applied to a different group of birds, the screech-owls in the genus Megascops. [8] Ten subspecies are recognised: [6] T. a. alba (Scopoli, 1769) – northwest Africa, west, south Europe to the Balkans
Screech owls are typical owls belonging to the genus Megascops with 22 living species.For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in Otus, but nowadays it is again considered separately based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological, and DNA sequence data.
The primary call is an accelerating series of short whistles at an increasing tempo or a short then long trill falling slightly at end. Other calls: barking and chuckling, similar to the eastern screech owl. [6] They also make a high pitched screech. The two primary songs for the Western Screech Owl are the bounce and double trill.
These owls are frequently heard calling at night, especially during their spring breeding season. Despite their name, this owl does not truly screech. The eastern screech owl's call is a tremolo with a descending, whinny-like quality, like that of a miniature horse. They also produce a monotone purring trill lasting 3–5 seconds.
The American barn owl is a medium-sized, pale-coloured owl with long wings and a short, squarish tail. [3] However, the largest-bodied race of barn owl, T. f. furcata from Cuba and Jamaica, is also an island race, albeit being found on more sizeable islands with larger prey and few larger owls competing for dietary resources. [4]
The bird family Tytonidae, which includes the barn owls Tyto and the bay owls Phodilus, is one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. They also differ from the ...
Puerto Rican barn owl (Tyto cavatica) found in Puerto Rico - may still have existed up to 1912; possibly a subspecies of the ashy-faced owl (Tyto glaucops) Noel's barn owl (Tyto noeli) found in Cuba; Rivero's barn owl (Tyto riveroi) found in Cuba; Cuban barn owl (Tyto sp.) found in Cuba; Hispaniolan barn owl (Tyto ostologa) found in Hispaniola