Barn owl | 台北市立動物園資訊網

Thebarnowl(Tytoalba)isthemostwidelydistributedspeciesofowlintheworldandoneof...Tytoalbaliterallymeans'whiteowl',fromtheonomatopoeicAncientGreekτυτώtyto,'owl'–compare...hobgoblinorhobbyowl,dobbyowl,white-​breasted

Common cosmopolitan owl species

The barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, living almost everywhere except for polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalayas, some Indonesian islands and some Pacific Islands. It is also known as the common barn owl, to distinguish it from the other species in its family, Tytonidae, which forms one of the two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical owls (Strigidae).

There are at least three major lineages of barn owl: the western barn owl of Europe, western Asia and Africa, the eastern barn owl of southeastern Asia and Australasia, and the American barn owl of the Americas. Some taxonomic authorities classify barn owls differently, recognising...