Barn Owls are everywhere! The Barnie is the most widely distributed owl in the world, found on all continents but Antarctica. They’ve even recently made it to New Zealand, possibly from hopping aboard ships or airplanes.

They are medium owls, primarily white, but come in a number of different patterns, have a very distinct heart shaped face, and the scream of a banshee. Whether it reminds you of an angel or a ghost, it is otherworldly and unforgettable regardless.

Barn owls have great hearing, even for owls, and we’re involved in famous studies about owl hearing and how they can hunt in complete darkness.

White it’s found its way almost everywhere, will it find your upvote today?

While the Mottled Wood Owl may be unfamiliar to a lot of you, once you see it, it’s hard to forget. It is a large owl of India and Nepal with a wild mottled and wavy plumage.

In some parts of India, it is thought to be a bad omen, and it’s haunting call gets it the name “fowl of death.” If you ask me, some more data is needed before I’m convinced of its danger to humans. More typically it hunts larger insects, rodents, birds, crabs, and lizards.

Is this owl your kind of wild and strange? If it is, show it your support now!

#owloftheyear2025 #superbowl

    • pseudo
      2·
      4 months ago

      I have an issue translating this name for my family. Are these eastern barn owls (Tyto javanica), american barn owls (Tyto furcata), western barn owls (Tyto alba) or any of the three?

      • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
        3·
        4 months ago

        This one I play a little loose. It is all the species of barn owl (no grass owl, marsh owls, bay owls, masked owls). With species and subspecies getting reclassified due to modern genetic testing and then the official names taking years to reflect new data, that’s above the technical level for us here. 😀

        This is actually going on with just about every owl in here. Even something like GHO/Gran Duc, where there are 15 subspecies. That’s just a level of granularity where it becomes a job rather than something for fun.

        • pseudo
          2·
          4 months ago

          that’s above the technical level for us here

          You’re right. I was overcomplicating things because I found a english wikipedia page for barn owls but not the same in french wikipédia. Yet, all barn owl mention in this page have a french wikipédia page where are named the “effraie of something”. So “la chouette effraie” is a good global translation for the broad barn of category.

          • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
            2·
            4 months ago

            Barn owls look to have so many French names, even though you only have Tyto alba, I think it is.

            Effraie means “scares”? When I search it,. It just shows more Barn Owl stuff than translations.

            In French, this owl is called “l’Effraie des clochers” or “chouette effraie” or even, “dame blanche”, meaning white lady. In English, the Barn Owl has also often been called by names related to its color or habitat: white owl, ghost owl, and church owl. (Source)

            • pseudo
              2·
              4 months ago

              “Effraie” means “scared” indeed but I’m not sure the name of the bird come from there.

            • Left as Center
              2·
              4 months ago

              Effraie means “scares”?

              Yes

              In French, this owl is called “l’Effraie des clochers” or “chouette effraie” or even, “dame blanche”,

              More often chouette effraie, and modern use of dame Blanche may refer to white powder to use up your nose.

              • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
                1·
                4 months ago

                So it basically means “scary owl”? And now they’re a drugs reference as well? Poor things! 😟

                Church bell owl sounds much nicer.

                • Left as Center
                  2·
                  4 months ago

                  Scary owl yes, because its cry is considered scary.

                  Dame blanche translates as “white lady” for all it’s worth.

            • pseudo
              2·
              4 months ago

              I’ve checked. The origin is orfraie (who break bones) but it got altered on the model of effrayer (to scare) because of the superstition. It was nail down on the door of bell towers :-(

      • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
        2·
        4 months ago

        I never got to do the pellet in my class. Now I get to pick them up for free so that’s…something 😅

        A number of birds besides owls also make pellets, and I’ve heard many prehistoric species have been discovered thanks to piles of pellets found in caves and other hidey holes that have been sheltered from weather and moisture and sun that would have broken that matter down.

        • RagnarokOnline@programming.dev
          2·
          4 months ago

          I remember it being fascinating.

          And I got to do it twice because my math class was canceled one day and I got to hang out in science on the 2nd day they were dissecting pellets.

          • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
            2·
            4 months ago

            I thought about poking through some at work since I pick them up anyway, but I already know what is in there since I feed them. It’s like already knowing the prize in a surprise egg 😜