Barn-owls | |
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Australian Masked Owl, Tyto novaehollandiae | |
Scientific classification | |
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Family: | Tytonidae Ridgway, 1914 |
Genera | |
Tyto | |
Synonyms | |
Tytoninae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist |
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.