The Barn Owl - Not just another pretty face

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Location:  near Tucson, Arizona, USA

This is the Barn Owl (Tyto alba).  One of this owl's distinguishing features is its lovely heart-shaped white face.  The Barn Owl is said to be one of the most widely distributed birds in the world, occurring naturally on every continent except Antarctica.

I photographed this individual at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, outside of Tucson, Arizona.  One of the most interesting outdoor exhibits at the museum is a raptor free-flight demonstration.  The Barn Owl is one of several birds of prey included in this demonstration, in which raptor species native to the Arizona desert are displayed in their natural habitat.

Update: Here is a photo of the Barn Owl in flight, and another portrait of the Barn Owl, in profile.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

How beautiful! So majestic looking.

kml said...

He is gorgeous, Bobbie. Love the details in all the feathers - you did a great job with him!

BNS said...

@ Anele - Thank you. Majestic is a good word to describe this bird.

@ Kathy - Thank you. I wanted to reach out and stroke those feathers, but I restrained myself. :-D

Bobbie

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful photo!

Unknown said...

Is captivity owl? With 55mm focal you must be close!!!
Ciao

BNS said...

@ 2Sweet - Thank you.

@ Tizio - The bird was perched on the gloved hand of a handler at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. At the moment I took the photo, the bird was less than 2 meters away from me, so yes, I was close to it.

Bobbie

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Nice portraiture shot