---
title: "Western Barn Owl"
description: "Tyto alba — Birds. The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/western-barn-owl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Western Barn Owl

> Tyto alba — Birds. The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa.

- Scientific name: *Tyto alba*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens), `farm` (Farm)
- iNaturalist observations: 8338
- Wikidata: [Q25317](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25317)
- iNaturalist taxon: [20445](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/20445)

## Names

- en: Western Barn Owl
- de: Schleiereule
- es: Lechuza de campanario
- fr: Effraie des Clochers
- nl: Kerkuil
- pt: Coruja-das-torres
- pl: Płomykówka zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

GB (1991), FR (653), ZA (548), ES (404), IT (392), PT (381), DE (342), GR (106), UA (102), NA (85), NL (70), IL (63)

## Summary

The western barn owl (Tyto alba) is a species of barn owl native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and Africa. It was formerly considered a subspecies group together with barn owls native to other parts of the world, but this classification was found to be paraphyletic with respect to some other members of the genus.
The plumage on the head and back is a mottled shade of grey or brown; that on the underparts varies from white to brown and is sometimes speckled with dark markings. The facial disc is characteristically large and heart-shaped, with white plumage in most subspecies. This owl does not hoot, but utters an eerie…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_barn_owl

## Photo

![Western Barn Owl](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/western-barn-owl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Ricardo Lima · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244195298

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/western-barn-owl?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).