Barn Owl vs Budgerigar
Tyto alba compared with Melopsittacus undulatus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | Budgerigar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Melopsittacus undulatus |
| Order | Strigiformes | Psittaciformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Psittaculidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 18.0 cm (7.1 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 30.0 cm (11.8 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 30.0 g (1.06 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Primarily grass seeds and other small seeds. In the wild, feeds on the ground in … |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 4-6 |
| 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.
Budgerigar
Open grasslands, scrublands, and woodland in the Australian interior. Nomadic, following rainfall and seeding events.
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.
Budgerigar
A rising, chattering 'budgerigar' chatter: rapid series of 'chek-chek-chek' and melodic warbling. Enormous wild flocks produce a continuous roaring chorus. Good vocal mimics in captivity.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Budgerigar
Interior of Australia, especially arid and semi-arid regions. One of the most popular pet birds worldwide.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
Budgerigar
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
Budgerigar
Wild-type is green with yellow head and barred black scalloping on upperparts. Captive-bred varieties include blue, white, yellow, and many other colors.
Short, downward-curved, olive-grey bill typical of parakeets
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.
Budgerigar
The budgerigar is the third most popular pet in the world after dogs and cats, and by far the most common pet parrot. Wild budgies travel in enormous nomadic flocks that can darken the sky. Males can learn to mimic human speech, with one record-holding budgie having a vocabulary of 1,728 words.