email a friend
printable version
LC
Barn Owl Tyto alba

IUCN Red List history

Year Category
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency Does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type   Average mass 355 g

Distribution

  Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 63,300,000 medium
Number of locations -
Fragmentation -

Population & trend

  Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals 5000000 poor Estimated 2009
Population trend Stable -
Number of subpopulations - - -
Largest subpopulation - - -
Generation length (yrs) 6.2 - - -
Trend justification: This species has had stable population trends over the last 40 years in North America (data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007). Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

Country/Territory distribution

Country/Territory Occurrence status Extinct Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Albania Native No Yes    
Algeria Native No      
American Samoa Native No Yes    
Andorra Native No      
Angola Native No      
Antigua and Barbuda Native No      
Argentina Native No      
Australia Native No Yes    
Austria Native No      
Bahamas Native No      
Bahrain Native No      
Bangladesh Native No Yes    
Barbados Native No      
Belarus Native No      
Belgium Native No      
Belize Native No      
Benin Native No      
Bermuda (to UK) Native No Yes    
Bolivia Native No      
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) Native No      
Bosnia and Herzegovina Native No Yes    
Botswana Native No      
Brazil Native No      
Bulgaria Native No      
Burkina Faso Native No      
Burundi Native No      
Cambodia Native No Yes    
Cameroon Native No      
Canada Native No      
Cape Verde Native No      
Cayman Islands (to UK) Native No      
Côte d'Ivoire Native No      
Central African Republic Native No      
Chad Native No      
Chile Native No      
China (mainland) Native No Yes    
Colombia Native No      
Comoros Native No      
Congo Native No      
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Native No      
Costa Rica Native No      
Croatia Native No      
Cuba Native No      
Curaçao (to Netherlands) Native No      
Cyprus Native No      
Czech Republic Native No      
Denmark Native No     Yes
Dominican Republic Native No      
Ecuador Native No      
Egypt Native No      
El Salvador Native No      
Equatorial Guinea Native No      
Eritrea Native No      
Estonia Vagrant No   Yes  
Ethiopia Native No      
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Native No      
Fiji Native No      
Finland Vagrant No   Yes  
France Native No      
French Guiana Native No      
Gabon Native No      
Gambia Native No      
Georgia Native No Yes    
Germany Native No      
Ghana Native No      
Gibraltar (to UK) Native No      
Greece Native No      
Guadeloupe (to France) Native No      
Guatemala Native No      
Guinea Native No      
Guinea-Bissau Native No      
Guyana Native No      
Honduras Native No      
Hungary Native No      
India Native No Yes    
Indonesia Native No Yes    
Iran, Islamic Republic of Native No      
Iraq Native No      
Ireland Native No      
Israel Native No Yes    
Italy Native No      
Jamaica Native No Yes    
Jordan Native No      
Kenya Native No      
Kuwait Native No      
Laos Native No Yes    
Latvia Native No      
Lebanon Native No      
Lesotho Native No      
Liberia Native No      
Libya Native No      
Liechtenstein Native No      
Lithuania Native No      
Luxembourg Native No      
Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Native No      
Madagascar Native No      
Malawi Native No      
Malaysia Native No Yes    
Mali Native No      
Malta Native No Yes    
Martinique (to France) Native No      
Mauritania Native No      
Mayotte (to France) Native No      
Mexico Native No      
Moldova Native No      
Monaco Native No Yes    
Montenegro Native No Yes    
Montserrat (to UK) Native No      
Morocco Native No      
Mozambique Native No      
Myanmar Native No Yes    
Namibia Native No      
Nepal Native No Yes    
Netherlands Native No      
New Zealand Vagrant No   Yes  
Nicaragua Native No      
Niger Native No      
Nigeria Native No      
Niue (to New Zealand) Native No Yes    
Norway Vagrant No   Yes  
Oman Native No      
Pakistan Native No Yes    
Palestinian Authority Territories Native No      
Panama Native No      
Papua New Guinea Native No Yes    
Paraguay Native No      
Peru Native No      
Poland Native No Yes    
Portugal Native No      
Puerto Rico (to USA) Native No      
Qatar Native No      
Romania Native No      
Russia (European) Native No Yes    
Rwanda Native No      
Samoa Native No Yes    
San Marino Native No Yes    
Saudi Arabia Native No      
São Tomé e Príncipe Native No Yes    
Senegal Native No      
Serbia Native No Yes    
Seychelles Introduced No Yes    
Sierra Leone Native No      
Singapore Native No Yes    
Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) Native No      
Slovakia Native No      
Slovenia Native No      
Solomon Islands Native No Yes    
Somalia Native No      
South Africa Native No      
South Sudan Native No      
Spain Native No      
Sri Lanka Native No Yes    
St Kitts and Nevis Native No      
St Lucia Native No      
St Vincent and the Grenadines Native No      
Sudan Native No      
Suriname Native No      
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) Vagrant No   Yes  
Swaziland Native No      
Sweden Native No Yes    
Switzerland Native No      
Syria Native No      
Tanzania Native No      
Thailand Native No Yes    
Timor-Leste Native No      
Togo Native No      
Tonga Native No Yes    
Trinidad and Tobago Native No      
Tunisia Native No      
Turkey Native No      
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) Native No      
Uganda Native No      
Ukraine Native No      
United Arab Emirates Native No      
United Kingdom Native No      
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) Native No      
Uruguay Native No Yes    
USA Native No Yes    
Vanuatu Native No Yes    
Venezuela Native No      
Vietnam Native No Yes    
Wallis and Futuna Islands (to France) Native No Yes    
Western Sahara Native No Yes    
Yemen Native No      
Zambia Native No      
Zimbabwe Native No      

Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria

Country/Territory IBA Name IBA link
Greece Thessaly plain site factsheet
Portugal Tejo estuary site factsheet
Spain Mountains of Barcelona site factsheet
Switzerland Lowlands of Zurich and lower valley of the river Thur site factsheet

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels) suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land suitable non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Wastewater Treatment Areas suitable resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Pastureland suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Rural Gardens suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest suitable resident
Artificial/Terrestrial Urban Areas marginal resident
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic) Caves suitable breeding
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable resident
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded suitable resident
Grassland Temperate suitable resident
Savanna Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Dry suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude suitable resident
Shrubland Subtropical/Tropical Moist marginal resident
Wetlands (inland) Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands marginal resident
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) suitable resident
Wetlands (inland) Shrub Dominated Wetlands suitable resident
Altitude 0 - 4000 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation

Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild International Non-trivial Recent
Handicrafts, jewellery, decorations, curios Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Sport Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Tyto alba. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/05/2013.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Key facts
Current IUCN Red List category Least Concern
Family Tytonidae (Barn owls)
Species name author (Scopoli, 1769)
Population size 5000000 mature individuals
Population trend Stable
Distribution size (breeding/resident) 63,300,000 km2
Country endemic? No
Links to further information
- Summary information on this species
- Climate change species distributions