Barn owl sitting on a branch

© blickwinkel/Alam

Owl be seeing you. Flight of the barn owl

It’s World Migratory Bird Day and this year the focus is on the tracking technologies used to follow birds' journeys across the globe, to examine the threats they face along the way. Organisers are following the routes of 12 bird species – including our homepage barn owl.

The world’s most widespread owl species, barn owls are found on every continent except for Antarctica. While some remain near the northern edges of their range all winter long, others move long distances south in the autumn. This striking countryside bird, with its heart-shaped face and pure white belly, can be spotted across the UK, often on farmland hunting for small mammals along the edges of fields. It goes by many nicknames, including ghost owl, due to its eerie, silent flight and, with its exceptionally sharp hearing, can locate its prey by sound alone.