The Barn Owl has a very light buoyant flight, it tends to have a slow wing beat and is capable of gliding and hovering, the flight is virtually silent.

The Barn owls ability to locate prey by sound alone is thought to be the best of any animal that has ever been tested. It can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world.

The Barn Owl is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world, although this does not mean it is safe from extinction. There are several subspecies throughout its range from America, throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Russia and Australia.

The Barn owl has aroused fear and superstition for centuries, it is therefore sometimes called the Ghost Owl, Death Owl, or the “bird of doom.”

As recently as the 1950s, they would be nailed to barn doors to ward off storms or skinned and pinned to fire screens, possibly to guard against thunder and lightning.

The ‘Newuks’, Native Americans, believed that evil people were reincarnated as Barn Owls when they died.

They were the Devil’s companions, able to make clairvoyant predictions.

It was thought that Barn owls were able to foresee death, their cry considered a warning that someone was soon to die.

They cursed people and it was thought they were responsible for the deaths of babies and the cry of an owl announced that a witch was near.

Barn Owls were thought to be the animal familiars of wizards and witches, and some witches were even said to ride on owls rather than broomsticks!