Barn-owl
The barn owls ( Tytonidae ) are one of the two families of owls ( Strigiformes order ). The most common type in Central Europe is the barn owl. The largest species is the Tasmania Barn Owl, which reaches a length of up to 55 centimeters.
Characteristics and lifestyle
Barn Owls are characterized by their distinctive heart-shaped face veil. Among the most striking indicator, however, is one that the rearward inner toe corresponds to the length of the middle toe.
Barn owls are nocturnal hunters and feed mainly on small mammals, such as mice and small birds. Flow noise during flying can be avoided through a comb-like serrated front primaries feathers and downy hairs on the feathers of the upper wing surface.
Dissemination
The family is found on all continents except Antarctica. The greatest diversity of species there are in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. In contrast, in Central, North and in most of East Asia lacks the family completely.
Genera and species
The systematics of the family is greatly changing. Individual species as occurring in Central Europe Barn Owl, are assigned many subspecies. On the basis of DNA testing different subspecies by some authors, is now recognized as having a species status. The number of species that are expected to the family of barn owls, varies according to different authors 16-27 extant species.
Subfamily mask Owls ( Phodilinae )
- Mask Owls ( Phodilus ) Maskeneule ( P. badius )
- Sri Lanka Maskeneule ( Phodilus assimilis )
Subfamily barn owls i.e.S. ( Tytoninae )
- Barn owls (Tyto ) Malegasseneule ( T. soumagnei )
- Barn Owl ( T. alba)
- American Barn Owl ( T. frucata )
- Curaçao Barn Owl ( T. bargei )
- Hispaniola Barn Owl ( T. glaucops )
- Lesser Antilles Barn Owl ( T. insularis )
- Galapagos Barn Owl ( Tyto punctatissima )
- Cape Verde Barn Owl ( T. distorta )
- São Tomé Barn Owl ( T. thomensis )
- Andaman Barn Owl ( T. deroepstorffi )
- Australia Barn Owl ( T. delicatula )
- Boang Barn Owl ( T. crassirostris )
- Sulawesi Barn Owl ( T. rosenbergii )
- Taliabu Barn Owl ( T. nigrobrunnea )
- Minahassa Barn Owl ( T. inexpectata )
- Tanimbarese Barn Owl ( T. sororcula )
- Manus Barn Owl ( T. manusi )
- Tasmania Barn Owl ( T. castanops )
- Neuhollandeule ( T. novaehollandiae )
- Gold Owl ( T. aurantia )
- Rußeule ( T. tenebricosa )
- Patch Rußeule ( T. multipunctata )
- Africa Graseule ( T. capensis )
- Eastern Graseule ( T. longimembris )
- Prigogine Owl ( T. prigoginei )
- Bahamas Owl ( T. pollens ), subfossil of Iceland Andros, Bahamas