#0738 · 🐦 birds
Western Barn Owl
🇳🇱 Kerkuil ·Tyto alba
📍 Groningen
📍 Zuid-Holland, NL
📍 Topvogel Roofvogelpark Diessen
📍 1795 De Cocksdorp, Nederland
📍 Sluiskil
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © caroline legg · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © john.purvis · CC BY 4.0
- 3. © Jon Nelson · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 4. © Wade Tregaskis · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Michael Bird · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. Groningen:© Christian Artuso · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 7. Zuid-Holland, NL:© Paul G. Schrijvershof · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 8. Topvogel Roofvogelpark Diessen:© Gitte Vossen Seuren · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 1795 De Cocksdorp, Nederland:© Paul G. Schrijvershof · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 10. Sluiskil:© Fermont Photography · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The western barn owl ( Tyto alba ) is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the American barn owl group, the eastern barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl make up the barn owl. The cosmopolitan barn owl is recognized by most taxonomic authorities. A few (including the International Ornithologists' Union) separate them into distinct species, as is done here. The western barn owl is native to Eurasia and Africa.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 74 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 8,577 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 580 g.
- Can live up to 4 years.
- Scientifically named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769 (257 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Western Barn Owl
- Nederlands
- Kerkuil
- scientific name
- Tyto alba
- class
- Aves
- order
- Strigiformes
- family
- Tytonidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 74
- sightings in Europe
- 4,934
- sightings worldwide
- 8,577
- GBIF records in NL
- 81,368
- weight
- 580 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- 4 years
- named
- 1769 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Tytonidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 20445, Wikidata Q25317, GBIF 2497921, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.