Listen to the western barn owl
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the western barn owl
The western barn owl is a bird in the family Tytonidae (order Strigiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 90 cm and weigh around 580 g.
What does the western barn owl sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as flight call, nocturnal flight call and abberant call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa. It was formerly considered a subspecies group together with barn owls native to other parts of the world, but this classification was found to be paraphyletic with respect to some other members of the genus.
The plumage on the head and back is a mottled shade of grey or brown; that on the underparts varies from white to brown and is sometimes speckled with dark markings. The facial disc is characteristically large and heart-shaped, with white plumage in most subspecies. This owl does not hoot, but utters an eerie, drawn-out screech.
Frequently asked questions
What does a western barn owl sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the western barn owl on this page, including its flight call, nocturnal flight call and abberant call. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the western barn owl endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the western barn owl as “least concern”.
What family does the western barn owl belong to?
The western barn owl (Tyto alba) belongs to the family Tytonidae in the order Strigiformes.
Sources & credits
- Barn Owl (Tyto alba) (W TYTO ALBA R1 C16) – CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Flight call · Arnhem, Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands by Joost van Bruggen – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Abberant call, flight call · Área Metropolitana de Sevilla (near Isla Mayor), Sevilla… by Joost van Bruggen – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Nocturnal flight call · Dresden, Dresden, Sachsen, Germany by Jens Loose – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Flight call, nocturnal flight call · Oosterend Terschelling, Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands by Joost van Bruggen – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Flight call · Fontaine-le-Comte, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q25317 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Western barn owl – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by User:Alun Williams333 – CC BY-SA 4.0