Barn Owl vs Belted Kingfisher
Tyto alba compared with Megaceryle alcyon
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | Belted Kingfisher |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Megaceryle alcyon |
| Order | Strigiformes | Coraciiformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Alcedinidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 33.0 cm (13.0 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 53.0 cm (20.9 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 150.0 g (5.29 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Primarily small fish caught by plunge-diving from a perch or hover. Also takes crayfish, frogs, … |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 6-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
Belted Kingfisher
Rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, estuaries, and coastlines with clear water and suitable perches. Nests in burrows dug into earthen banks.
Song & Call Comparison
Barn Owl
An eerie, drawn-out rasping shriek 'shreeeeee' — not a hoot. Also gives hissing, snoring, and bill-snapping when disturbed. Chicks call with a persistent rasping hunger call.
Belted Kingfisher
A loud, rattling 'klee-klee-klee-klee' — mechanical and penetrating. Given in flight along rivers. Also a harsh 'kekekek' near nest. Far louder than Common Kingfisher.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Belted Kingfisher
North America from Alaska and Canada to Central America and the Caribbean. Northern populations migrate south in winter.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
Belted Kingfisher
How to Tell Them Apart
Barn Owl
Pale golden-buff upperparts with delicate grey mottling. Pure white heart-shaped face and white to pale buff underparts. Ghostly white appearance in flight.
Pale pinkish hooked bill nearly concealed by the facial disc
Belted Kingfisher
Blue-grey upperparts with a shaggy crest and a white collar. Males have a single blue-grey breast band; females have an additional rufous belly band.
Long, heavy, straight, dark dagger-like bill
About These Birds
Barn Owl
The barn owl has the most asymmetrical ears of any owl, giving it the finest auditory localization ability in the animal kingdom. It can catch prey in complete darkness using sound alone. The barn owl's distinctive heart-shaped face acts as a parabolic dish, funneling sound to its offset ears.
Belted Kingfisher
The belted kingfisher is unusual in that the female is more colorful than the male, sporting an additional rufous belly band. These noisy birds announce their territory with a distinctive rattling call. They excavate nesting burrows up to 2.4 meters deep into riverbanks using their heavy bills.