Barn Owl vs Southern Cassowary
Tyto alba compared with Casuarius casuarius
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | Southern Cassowary |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Casuarius casuarius |
| Order | Strigiformes | Casuariiformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Casuariidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 155.0 cm (61.0 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 60.2 cm (23.7 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 58000.0 g (2045.89 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Primarily fallen fruit from the rainforest floor, also fungi, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. A critical … |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 3-8 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
Barn Owl only
Southern Cassowary only
None
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
Southern Cassowary
Tropical rainforests, mangroves, and adjacent habitat in New Guinea and northeastern Australia.
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.
Southern Cassowary
Produces very deep, booming rumbles and low-frequency calls below 20 Hz (infrasound), felt more than heard. Also gives loud bellowing grunts audible up to 1 km away.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Southern Cassowary
New Guinea, nearby islands, and northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
Southern Cassowary
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
Southern Cassowary
Glossy black hair-like plumage. Brilliant blue and red bare skin on the head and neck. A large bony casque crowns the head. Vestigial wings with no flight feathers.
Long, laterally compressed, dark grey 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.
Southern Cassowary
The southern cassowary is often called the most dangerous bird in the world due to its powerful legs and dagger-like inner claw that can reach 12 cm in length. Despite this reputation, cassowaries are vital rainforest keystone species, dispersing seeds of plants that no other animal can. The purpose of their distinctive casque remains debated.