Farmland and open countryside, nesting in old barns and sheds. Often two broods are produced in a year. There are now probably only 2000 pairs left in the wild in Britain.
Barn owls are a golden buff colour with a white heart-shaped face and a small beak.
They rely on their hearing to hunt at night using these distinctive facial discs to take in sounds all around the bird. The owl processes these sounds through its ears. The male has a pure white chest. The female has small specks of white on hers. They have a silent flight helped by the primary wing feathers at the front of the wing.