Central American Barn Owl

The barn owl is the only species in this family found in the united states.
Central american barn owl. Four of these. Found in tropical humid forests and nearby secondary growth from sea level to 1 300 meters in elevation. Central american pygmy owl is readily distinguished from the other pygmy owls of central america with its grayish brown colored head contrasting with its rich brown unspotted back. The main owl photos below link to their page where all photos video and recordings of the individual owls are found.
Furthermore the barn owl is likely the most numerous of all raptorial birds with an estimate by the iucn for all barn owl individuals possibly ranging as high as up to nearly 10 million individuals throughout the americas the american barn owl species may comprise nearly 2 million alone. American barn owl is the only member of the tytonidae family found on the mainland of north or central america although other members of this family can be found in the caribbean. Each owl has a complete page of photos and recordings with explanations field notes to help identify the owls look for the new streaming video on. There is no known overlap with any other pygmy owl within its central american range and habitat.
Additionally some owls found in the caribbean that are considered american barn owls have different calls and appearance and will certainly be further split into their own unique species as more studies are done in. The american barn owl tyto furcata is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the western barn owl group the eastern barn owl group and sometimes the andaman masked owl make up the barn owl cosmopolitan in range. Central american owls a reference for central american owls. The ashy faced owl which was once though to be a barn owl subspecies is found in haiti and the dominican republic.
The central american owls checklist below includes all owls that are possible in this region. Owls of the world n orth america s outh america africa europe m iddle east asia oceania. There are no truly endemic owls found in only one country although there are five owl species only found in central america color coded green within the north american continent. Resides year round in parts of southern mexico guatemala belize honduras costa rica and panama.
The barn owl is recognized by most taxonomic authorities. Tyto megascops gymnoglaux bubo pulsatrix strix lophostrix glaucidium athene aegolius pseudoscops asio. All the owls found here are resident and nonmigratory. Has small ranges in northwestern parts of colombia and ecuador.
Ashy faced owl tyto. Tyto barn grass owls common barn owl tyto alba. American barn owls physical differences. American barn owls tyto furcata are very different from their european cousins although they look similar barn owls in north america are around 50 heavier with males averaging 474 grams over 1 lb compared to just 312 grams 11 ounces in europe.