Tytonidae

Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls.  The other is the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons.

The barn owls are a wide ranging family.  They are not found in northern North America, Saharan Africa and large areas of Asia. They live in a wide range of habitats from deserts to forests, and from temperate latitudes to the tropics.

The barn-owls' main characteristic is the heart-shaped facial disc, formed by stiff feathers. The feathers help to amplify and locate the source of sounds when the bird hunts. Adaptations to the wing feathers eliminate sound caused by flying. This helps both the owl's hearing, and keeps the prey unaware of the owl. To summarise: the owl hunts mainly at dusk and night-time. Its uses sound to detect prey movement: its hearing is sensitive, and its wings are almost silent.

Genera and species
Genus Tyto
 Greater sooty-owl, T. tenebricosa
 Lesser sooty-owl, T. multipunctata
 Australian masked owl, T. novaehollandiae
 Cave-nesting masked owl, T. novaehollandiae troughtoni - disputed; probably extinct (1960s)
 Golden masked owl, T. aurantia
 Lesser masked owl, T. sororcula
 Buru masked owl, T. (sororcula) cayelii - possibly extinct (mid-20th century?)
 Manus masked owl, T. manusi
 Taliabu masked owl, T. nigrobrunnea
 Minahassa masked owl, T. inexspectata
 Sulawesi owl, T. rosenbergii
 Peleng masked owl, T. rosenbergii pelengensis - probably extinct (mid-20th century)
 Common barn owl, T. alba
 Eastern barn Owl, T. (alba) delicatula
 Ashy-faced owl, T. glaucops
 Red owl T. soumagnei
 African grass owl T. capensis
 Australasian grass owl T. longimembris

Genus Phodilus
 Oriental bay owl P. badius
 Samar bay owl P. (badius) riverae
 Congo bay owl, P. prigoginei - sometimes placed in Tyto

Fossil genera. The fossil record of the barn-owls goes back to the Eocene.
 Nocturnavis (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - includes "Bubo" incertus
 Necrobyas (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene - Late Miocene) - includes "Bubo" arvernensis and Paratyto
 Selenornis (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Quercy, France) - includes "Asio" henrici
 Prosybris (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Quercy?  Early Miocene of France)

References
 Bruce M.D. 1999. Family Tytonidae (Barn-owls). In: del Hoyo J.; Elliott A. & Sargatal J. (eds): Handbook of birds of the world, Volume 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds: 34-75, plates 1-3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. 
Steadman, David William 2006. Extinction and biogeography of tropical Pacific island birds. University of Chicago Press. .

Category:Strigiformes