Barn Owl vs White-tailed Eagle
Tyto alba compared with Haliaeetus albicilla
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Barn Owl | White-tailed Eagle |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyto alba | Haliaeetus albicilla |
| Order | Strigiformes | Accipitriformes |
| Family | Tytonidae | Accipitridae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 35.0 cm (13.8 in) | 84.0 cm (33.1 in) |
| Wingspan | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 225.0 cm (88.6 in) |
| Weight | 350.0 g (12.35 oz) | 5200.0 g (183.42 oz) |
| Diet | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Fish, waterfowl, and carrion. Often pirates food from other birds. Takes fish from the water … |
| Clutch Size | 2-16 | 1-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
Barn Owl only
White-tailed Eagle only
None
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
White-tailed Eagle
Coastlines, large lakes, and rivers with mature trees or cliffs for nesting. Requires large undisturbed areas.
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.
White-tailed Eagle
High-pitched, yelping 'klee-klee' and deep barking 'ra-ra-ra'. Less vocal than Bald Eagle but similar chattering quality. Gives gull-like wailing near nest in breeding season.
Geographic Range & Migration
Barn Owl
The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.
White-tailed Eagle
Northern Europe and Asia from Greenland and Scandinavia to Japan. Reintroduced to Scotland and Ireland.
Conservation Status
Barn Owl
White-tailed Eagle
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
White-tailed Eagle
Brown body with a paler head in adults and a distinctive short white wedge-shaped tail. Massive broad wings in flight. Juveniles are darker overall.
Very large, heavy, pale yellow 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.
White-tailed Eagle
The white-tailed eagle is Europe's largest eagle and the fourth-largest eagle in the world. Once extinct in Britain, it has been successfully reintroduced to Scotland and Ireland through conservation programs. These powerful raptors can live over 25 years and form lifelong pair bonds.