acrylic on illustration board 8” x 10” One of the planet's most widespread birds, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is absent only from the poles, north Asia, and much of the Pacific region. Long associated with humans, it frequently exploits barns and other little-used buildings, probably less for the roosting and nesting sites they provide than for the rodents they attract. Along with the dozen or so other species in their genus and the two species of Phodilus, they comprise the family Tytonidae, which is very different from typical owls, and much more like the nighthawks, whip-poor-wills, and other members of the family Caprimulgidae. |
