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Shilo

Soffy

If you clicked on the video and watched, you joined us on a journey of discovery and education as we uncovered the first three months of the fascinating world of these two barn owls' breeding season. Our in-box Ring nest cam captured Shilo and Soffy, our resident barn owls, while hatching and beginning to raise their owlets. Here, we outline the video and the references used to create its content. 

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Barn owls, Tyto Alba - video on YouTube: 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vyOUmfJqHU&t=300s

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Content:

Barn owls mate for life

This video chronicles their breeding season

Courtship Rituals [1]

Checking out the nest box

Calling for a mate

Soliciting interest

Fun fact about flexible necks [2]

Acceptance

Copulation [3]

Mutual preening to strengthen bonds [4]

Egg Laying

Body weight of female [5]

Incubation 29-34 days [6]

A clutch – number of eggs [7]

Lays an egg every 2-3 days [8]

Hatchlings (owlets)

1st hatchling

Born naked and eyes closed [9]

Female in nest until chicks can thermoregulate [10]

Failure to thrive [11]

Death under seven weeks [12]

 

Video References

[1, 3] Bachynski, K. & Harris, M.  (2020). Barn owl, Tyto alba. Animal Diversity Web https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tyto_alba

[2] Krings, M., Nyakatura, J. A., Boumans, M. L., Fischer, M. S., & Wagner, H. (2017). Barn owls maximize head rotations by a combination of yawing and rolling in functionally diverse regions of the neck. Journal of Anatomy, 231(1), 12-22.

[4] Prego, B. (2021, May 13). Barn owl courtship and nesting behavior. Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. https://www.gwct.org.uk/blogs/news/2021/may/owl-box-live-barn-owl-courtship-and-nesting-behaviour

[5, 6, 7, 8, 9] Cornell lab of ornithology. (2024). Barn owl. Cornell University. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/overview

[10, 11, 12] Barn Owl Trust. (2024). Barn owl facts. The Barn Owl Trust  https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/barn-owl-facts/owlets-young-barn-owls/#hatching

References

American Bird Conservancy. (2024). Barn owl. ABC’s Bird Library. https://abcbirds.org/bird/barn-owl/

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Audubon. (2024) Barn owl. National Audubon Society. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barn-owl

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Bank, L., Haraszthy, L., Horváth, A., & Horváth, G. F. (2019). Nesting success and productivity of the Common Barn-owl: results from a nest box installation and long-term breeding monitoring program in Southern Hungary. Ornis Hungarica, 27(1), 1-31.

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Browning, M., Cleckler, J., Knott, K., & Johnson, M. (2016). Prey consumption by a large aggregation of barn owls in an agricultural setting. In Proceedings of the vertebrate pest conference (Vol. 27, No. 27).

 

Charter, M., & Rozman, G. (2022). The Importance of Nest Box Placement for Barn Owls (Tyto alba). Animals,12(20), 2815.

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Cornell lab of ornithology. (2024). Barn owl. Cornell University. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/overview

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Hindmarch, S., Elliott, J. E., Mccann, S., & Levesque, P. (2017). Habitat use by barn owls across a rural to urban gradient and an assessment of stressors including, habitat loss, rodenticide exposure and road mortality. Landscape and Urban Planning, 164, 132-143.

 

Huang, A. C., Elliott, J. E., Cheng, K. M., Ritland, K., Ritland, C. E., Thomsen, S. K., ... & Martin, K. (2016). Barn owls (Tyto alba) in western North America: phylogeographic structure, connectivity, and genetic diversity. Conservation genetics, 17, 357-367.

 

Krings, M., Nyakatura, J. A., Boumans, M. L., Fischer, M. S., & Wagner, H. (2017). Barn owls maximize head rotations by a combination of yawing and rolling in functionally diverse regions of the neck. Journal of anatomy, 231(1), 12-22.

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Kross, S. M., Bourbour, R. P., & Martinico, B. L. (2016). Agricultural land use, barn owl diet, and vertebrate pest control implications. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 223, 167-174.

 

Long, R. F. (2017, Nov 13). Barn owls help clean up rodents naturally. UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=25626

 

Lusby, J., & O’Clery, M. (2014). Barn Owls in Ireland: information on the ecology of barn owls and their conservation in Ireland. Kilcoole. BirdWatch Ireland.

 

Motro, Y. (2011). Economic evaluation of biological rodent control using barn owls Tyto alba in alfalfa. Julius-Kühn-Archiv, (432), 79.

 

Raptors are the solution. (n.d.). RATS home. Earth island institute. https://raptorsarethesolution.org

 

Seaworld Parks and Entertainment. (2024). Barn owl. United Parks and Resorts, animal info. 

https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/birds/barn-owl/

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Wendt, C. A., & Johnson, M. D. (2017). Multi-scale analysis of barn owl nest box selection on Napa Valley vineyards. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 247, 75-83.

 

Young, J. (2017, May 30). Build an owl box. UC Davis Magazine. https://magazine.ucdavis.edu/build-an-owl-box/

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