Western barn owl
Amazing fact
A barn owl’s ears are positioned asymmetrically, helping it locate sounds.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A barn owl’s ears are positioned asymmetrically, helping it locate sounds.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Western barn owl
- Scientific name
- Tyto alba
- Japanese name
- メンフクロウ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Tytonidae
- Genus
- Tyto
An owl with a striking, mask-like face. It lives in open woodlands and grasslands.
Its hearing is excellent: it is said to tell where a sound came from just by hearing it, so it can find prey even on pitch-dark nights.
At night it searches for mice, moles, and other animals, then swoops down quickly and silently to catch them.
How the Western barn owl lives
They begin hunting alone after sunset. They fly low and catch prey with their feet. They may store extra food.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: 30–40 cm
- Diet
- Mice, birds, and other small animals
- Range
- Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Australia
Where the Western barn owl has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- メンフクロウ
- 简体中文
- 仓鸮
- 繁體中文
- 倉鴞
- 한국어
- 원숭이올빼미
- Español
- Lechuza común
- Français
- Effraie des clochers
- Deutsch
- Schleiereule
- Português (Brasil)
- Coruja-das-torres
- Italiano
- Barbagianni comune
- हिन्दी
- श्वेतोलूक
- العربية
- هامة
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Serak jawa
- Tiếng Việt
- Cú lợn lưng xám
- Русский
- Обыкновенная сипуха
- Türkçe
- Bayağı peçeli baykuş
- ไทย
- นกแสก
- বাংলা
- লক্ষ্মীপেঁচা
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 井の頭自然文化園 — メンフクロウChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Tyto albaChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Western barn owl, look for this
- Look at the rounded wings and short tail.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Western barn owl
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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