Fun facts about barn owls in different countries and their adaptations

The prairies of the Prairie Research Institute are my home, but my barn owl cousins live in almost every corner of the world. I’m Lady Eleanor Bones, and tonight I’m taking you on a flight across continents to meet them.

In England, my cousins glide over patchwork farmlands, hunting field voles by moonlight. In Australia, they adapt to the heat by hunting after sunset and using open eucalyptus woodlands as their lookout towers. In Kenya, they thrive near villages, controlling rodent populations in grain stores. And in snowy Canada, their feathers grow extra dense for warmth, though they face the challenge of deep winters with fewer prey.

Wherever they are, barn owls share the same sharp hearing, silent flight, and taste for mice that make them nature’s pest control team — all without chemicals. These adaptations help them survive in environments as different as tropical wetlands and frozen grasslands.

Different lands, different strategies, but one mission: keeping ecosystems in balance. And just like my partner Sherlock Bones and I here in the prairies, each cousin plays a vital role in the health of their home.