barn owl

noun

|Updated on: 24 Jun 2018

Definition of barn owl

: a widely distributed owl (Tyto alba) that has plumage mottled buff brown and gray above and chiefly white below, frequents barns and other buildings, and preys especially on rodents

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Recent Examples of barn owl from the Web

Like politicians interrupting each other or reporters jockeying to get their question answered, barn owl chicks may try to outdo each other by chirping louder or more quickly in an effort to attract favor from their mothers during feeding.

— joshua rapp learn, Smithsonian, "Some Animals Take Turns While Talking, Just Like Humans. Why?," 20 June 2018
Volunteer Jeanne Wadsworth brought out Tyton, a barn owl from Utah.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Horizon Wings Shares Majesty Of Area Raptors," 29 May 2018
According to a recent article in American Fruit Grower, a family of barn owls will scarf down an amazing several thousand rodents during a nesting season, with the young eating two to four rodents a night!

— leah zerbe, Good Housekeeping, "How To Attract Owls To Your Backyard," 14 Aug. 2015
Students get to don thick leather gloves and let a Harris’ hawk, red tail hawk or barn owl land on their fists.

— vincent crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Suwannee County: Experience an ancient hunting art at International Falconry Academy," 6 May 2018
The happy couple was just about to exchange vows when the barn owl — which had been commissioned specifically to fly down the aisle and deliver the rings to the best man — took off from its perch near the back of the room.

— michael bartiromo, Fox News, "Owl gets loose at wedding, leaves best man 'terrified'," 27 Mar. 2018
This also will become the home for the screech owls, barn owls and burrowing owls.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "Birds of Prey gets a rare addition and a multimillion-dollar expansion | Idaho Statesman," 12 Mar. 2018
But farmers on both sides found common ground in fostering a burgeoning population of the natural pest-eating barn owls, which had previously been in decline.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "The Animal Cost of War," 11 Jan. 2018
Other birds that can be attracted to birdhouses in the San Antonio area include woodpeckers, barn owls, flycatchers, screech owls, house finches and tree ducks.

— calvin finch, San Antonio Express-News, "Purple martins are a great addition to the landscape," 4 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'barn owl.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.