Barn Owl vs Common Nightingale

Tyto alba 对比 Luscinia megarhynchos

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Side-by-Side Comparison

属性 Barn Owl Common Nightingale
学名 Tyto alba Luscinia megarhynchos
Strigiformes Passeriformes
Tytonidae Muscicapidae
保护状况 Least Concern Least Concern
体长 35.0 cm (13.8 in) 16.5 cm (6.5 in)
翼展 90.0 cm (35.4 in) 25.0 cm (9.8 in)
体重 350.0 g (12.35 oz) 21.0 g (0.74 oz)
食性 Almost exclusively small mammals, especially voles and mice. Hunts using extraordinary hearing to locate prey … Insects and larvae, supplemented with berries in autumn. Forages on or near the ground in …
产卵数 2-16 4-5
Population Trend
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Size Comparison

Body Length
Barn Owl 35.0 cm
Common Nightingale 16.5 cm
翼展
Barn Owl 90.0 cm
Common Nightingale 25.0 cm
体重
Barn Owl 350.0 g
Common Nightingale 21.0 g
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Habitat Comparison

共同栖息地

Barn Owl only

Common Nightingale only

Barn Owl

Open farmland, grasslands, and marshes. Nests in barns, church steeples, tree cavities, and purpose-built nest boxes.

Common Nightingale

Dense thickets, scrub, and undergrowth in deciduous woodland. Prefers areas with thick ground cover near water.

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Song & Call Comparison

Barn Owl

鸣唱

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.

Common Nightingale

鸣唱

Considered Europe's finest songster: an extraordinarily rich, loud, flute-like melody of bubbling trills, slow whistles, and a distinctive crescendo 'lu-lu-lu'. Sings day and night.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Barn Owl

The most widespread owl and one of the most widespread land birds, found on every continent except Antarctica.

Common Nightingale

Breeds in Europe and western Asia. Winters in sub-Saharan Africa. A long-distance migrant crossing the Sahara.

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保护状况

Least Concern

Barn Owl

Least Concern

Common Nightingale

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How to Tell Them Apart

Barn Owl

羽毛

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

Common Nightingale

羽毛

Plain warm brown upperparts with a rufous-chestnut tail. Pale greyish-white underparts. Unremarkable appearance belies its remarkable voice.

Thin, pointed, dark brown bill

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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.

Common Nightingale

夜莺(Luscinia megarhynchos)— 分布于欧洲和中亚,在非洲越冬。以夜间也能听到的复杂而丰富的歌声著称。

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