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These species include barn owls (Tyto alba), northern saw-whet owls (Aegolius acadicus), and long-eared owls (Asio otus). The barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most commonly studied for sound localization because they use similar methods to humans for interpreting interaural time differences in the horizontal plane. [4]
The barn owl is a medium-sized, pale-coloured owl with long wings and a short, squarish tail. There is considerable size variation across the subspecies, with a typical specimen measuring about 33 to 39 cm (13 to 15 in) in overall length, with a wingspan of some 80 to 95 cm (31 to 37 in).
The barn-owl's main characteristic is the heart-shaped facial disc, formed by stiff feathers which serve to amplify and locate the source of sounds when hunting. [13] Further adaptations in the wing feathers eliminate sound caused by flying, aiding both the hearing of the owl listening for hidden prey and keeping the prey unaware of the owl.
The American barn owl is a medium-sized, pale-coloured owl with long wings and a short, squarish tail. 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. [3]
The barn owl is a bird of open country such as farmland or grassland with some interspersed woodland, usually at altitudes below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) but occasionally as high as 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in the tropics. This owl prefers to hunt along the edges of woods or in rough grass strips adjoining pasture.
The eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica) is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the American barn owl group, the western barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl make up the barn owl. The cosmopolitan barn owl is recognized by most taxonomic authorities. A few (including the International Ornithologists' Union ...
The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air") [ 3 ] or the hoot owl, [ 4 ] is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the ...
In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds —most notably owls —surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those waves towards the owl's ears. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted by the bird to alter ...