Barn Owls' Nesting and Egg-Laying

by XUVinqi on Jan 15, 2025
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    Introduction

    Monkey-faced eagle (Tyto alba), also known as barn owl, monkey eagle, etc., is a medium-sized bird with a total of 28 subspecies. The body length is 33-39cm, the wingspan is 85-93cm, and the body weight is 470-570g.

    Night Raptor. The beak is strong and hooked. The mouth base wax film is covered by hard whiskers. The shapes of wings are different. The tail is short and round, with 12 tail feathers, sometimes only 10. The feet are strong and powerful, often all feathered, and the toes can be reversed backward to facilitate climbing. The claws are big and sharp. Tail fat gland exposed. No secondary feather, occasionally or retained. The edge of the ear hole has ear feathers, which helps to distinguish the sound at night and locate at night. Nesting in tree holes or rock crevices, nestlings late-maturation. 

    Nest site selection and living habits

    The barn owl inhabits in open fields, low mountains, hills and forests near farmland, towns and villages. It likes to hide under ruins, attic, tree holes, rock joints and piers, and especially likes to inhabit in the farm barn, so it is named.

    The barn owl often acts alone. During the day, it mostly perches in trees or holes, and comes out at dusk and at night, sometimes in broken houses, cemeteries or other ruins. It flies fast and powerfully, silently, and appears to be shadowy in the night. In addition, its call is very unpleasant, very similar to the screams of people during torture, so it often makes people feel very horrible about it. It mainly feeds on rodents and hares. It is a famous rat catcher. It captures about 3 mice every day and eliminates more than 1000 rodents in one year. In addition, sometimes it also hunts small and medium-sized birds, frogs and larger insects, and occasionally it can fish like an osprey. During the hunting, a sudden attack is taken, and at the same time, a shrill cry is made, so that the prey is trapped in extreme terror, and the prey is captured. 

    Challenges in Finding a Suitable Nest

    The barn owl inhabits in open fields, low mountains, hills, farmland, and forests near villages. It likes to hide under ruins, attic, tree holes, rock joints, and bridge piers. It also likes to inhabit in the barn of the farm, so it is named 'barn owl'. The difficulty of the nest is mainly reflected in its concealment and complexity. The nests of barn owls are usually selected in hidden places, such as barns, church towers, deep holes on walls, hollow trees and caves between rocks. These sites not only provide good concealment, but also provide a safe breeding environment for barn owls. The nest structure of barn owl is complex, usually composed of branches, grass leaves and other materials. These materials are difficult to be found in the wild environment.

    The breeding habits of the owl also increase the difficulty of nests. They prefer to nest in the darkness of large buildings, laying 4-7 eggs at a time, and sometimes as many as 15 eggs may be laid when food is scarce. The nestlings can hunt and swallow the whole prey at 5-6 weeks old, which shows the independence and adaptability of the barn owl during the growth of the nestlings. In addition, barn owls are mainly distributed in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Oceania. They inhabit the dark areas of residential buildings, mountain caves, tree caves or leafy shelters. They sleep during the day and forage at night, catching rats and large insects. These ecological habits also further illustrate the adaptability of the barn owl to the environment and the demand for hidden nests.

    The Egg-Laying Process

    The breeding activity of barn owl is divided into two times a year. The first time is in spring, from March to early June, while the second time is in autumn, from September to December. Their nesting sites are very diverse, often including the roofs of buildings, ceiling crevices, caves on the walls, or even small warehouses or internal voids in huts where food is stored. Occasionally, they also choose to settle down in tree holes or rock walls. The structure of the nest is simple, mainly based on withered grass, without too much decoration.

    Each owl female usually lays 2 to 7 eggs. The egg shell is white and the surface is smooth without spots. The incubation is carried out by the female bird, and the whole process takes about 32 to 34 days. During the incubation period, the parent birds will participate in the brooding to ensure the healthy growth of the young birds. The nestlings are covered with white down feathers when they are born. After 9 to 12 weeks of growth, they will be ready to leave the nest and begin to live independently. 

    Barn Owl Incubation and role of the Male in Supporting the Nest

        It reproduces twice a year, the first from March to early June and the second from September to December. They usually prefer to nest on buildings, whether on roof ceilings, in wall holes, in small warehouses and gaps in cottages where grain is stored, or sometimes in tree holes or rock-wall holes. The nest is very simple, only in which some dead grass can be paved. Each nest laid 2-7 eggs. The egg is white and the surface is smooth without spots. Female birds hatch eggs. The incubation period is 32-34 days. Parent birds brood together. The nestlings are covered with white down feathers and leave the nest after 9-12 weeks. The role of barn owl males in supporting nests mainly includes providing food to young chicks. During the breeding of the barn owl, the female is responsible for hatching eggs, while the male is responsible for providing food to the chicks. Specifically, barn owls typically breed in nests in hollow trees, old buildings, or cliff crevices, with about four eggs per nest. The female barn owl is responsible for hatching the eggs, while the male barn owl is responsible for going out to find food to feed the chicks. 

    Conclusion

        In summary, barn owls are widely distributed in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Oceania. They live in the darkness of residential buildings, mountain caves, tree holes or hidden places with dense leaves, sleep during the day, forage at night, catch mice and large insects.

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