Barn Owl vs Northern Fulmar
Tyto alba compared with Fulmarus glacialis
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | Northern Fulmar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Fulmarus glacialis |
| Order | Strigiformes | Procellariiformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Procellariidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 47.0 cm (18.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 107.0 cm (42.1 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 750.0 g (26.46 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Fish, squid, crustaceans, offal from fishing vessels, and zooplankton. Feeds by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-diving. |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
None
Barn Owl only
Northern Fulmar only
None
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
Northern Fulmar
Open ocean and sea cliffs. Breeds on cliff ledges and grassy slopes on northern coastlines. Pelagic outside breeding season.
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.
Northern Fulmar
A nasal, cackling 'kak-kak-kak-kak' or grunting 'uh-uh-uh' at the nest and colony. Less melodic than petrels. In flight gives occasional single nasal calls.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Northern Fulmar
North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Breeds from the Arctic south to Britain, France, and New England.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
Northern Fulmar
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
Northern Fulmar
Light morph: white head and underparts with grey wings and back. Dark morph: entirely grey. Tube-nosed bill and stiff-winged flight distinctive at sea.
Yellowish hooked bill with prominent tubular nostrils on top
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.
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar is a long-lived seabird that can survive over 40 years. It defends its nest by projectile-vomiting a foul-smelling stomach oil at intruders, which can mat the feathers of predators and cause fatal loss of waterproofing. Fulmars have expanded their breeding range dramatically southward over the past two centuries.