Paintings: Barry Kent MacKay

The world’s most widely distributed owl species, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is found on every continent except Antarctica, with nearly 30 different geographic variations, or subspecies, identified. I’ve shown one from eastern North America. Ontario, where I live, is at the northern limit of its range here in Eastern North America. Barn Owls do, as the name implies, often nest in human-made structures, including barns, where they can eat many rodents, although their prey is varied. Incubation of eggs begins with the first laid, so that the ages of the chicks is staggered, and as much as several weeks can separate the age of the oldest from the youngest. The species pairs for life or until the loss of a mate.