The barn owl has silent flight because of the specialized feathers on the wing, but keen hearing is the key to its ability to pinpoint small animals in the darkness. Birds of prey cannot digest bones and fur. Therefore, they must regurgitate pellets which contain these undigested materials. The pellets are approximately two inches long and brownish in color. Accumulations of pellets are a good sign that an owl is using a nesting site.
Barn owls are agriculturally valuable predators.
A barn owl family of six young and two adults may consume over 1,000 rodents during the nesting period. The barn owl has nearly disappeared in recent years from wide sections of its former range. It is a candidate for the state list of endangered wildlife in Ohio and is already classified as endangered in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan general and Wisconsin. Farmers and other people who own barns are invaluable to this program. The more barns that are available, the better the chance the owls have for survival.