Barn Owl vs Northern Gannet
Tyto alba comparé à Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribut | Barn Owl | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Nom scientifique | Tyto alba | Morus bassanus |
| Ordre | Strigiformes | Suliformes |
| Famille | Tytonidae | Sulidae |
| Statut de conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Longueur | 35,0 cm (13.8 in) | 93,0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Envergure | 90,0 cm (35.4 in) | 180,0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Poids | 350,0 g (12.35 oz) | 3000,0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Régime alimentaire | Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Taille de la couvée | 2-16 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Habitats partagés
Barn Owl only
Northern Gannet only
Aucun(e)
Barn Owl
Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
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 Gannet
Loud, harsh 'urrah-urrah' grunting and croaking at breeding colonies on sea stacks. Also gives a softer 'karrr' in flight. Large colonies are extremely noisy during the 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.
Northern Gannet
North Atlantic, breeding from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to Norway, Iceland, and Britain. Winters at sea south to the tropics.
Statut de conservation
Barn Owl
Northern Gannet
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 Gannet
Brilliant white body with black wingtips and a golden-yellow wash on the head and nape. Blue-grey bill with dark lines and pale blue eye-ring.
Long, straight, pointed, pale blue-grey bill with serrated edges
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 Gannet
The northern gannet is a spectacular plunge-diver, folding its two-meter wingspan into an arrow shape to hit the water at up to 100 km/h. Air sacs under the skin and a reinforced skull protect it from the impact. Bass Rock in Scotland hosts over 150,000 gannets, the largest single colony of any seabird in the world.