NestMetrics 🪹

The barn owl is a silent hunter found on every continent except Antarctica, famously recognized for extraordinary hearing that allows it to strike prey in total darkness. They primarily hunt small mammals like mice and voles on the ground and have adapted remarkably well to agricultural and human environments, using old barns, hollow trees, and man-made nest boxes as safe havens for nesting. They mate for life, and while the mother sits on the eggs, the father hunts. He brings rodents back to the nest to feed her so she rarely has to leave. However, unlike other birds, the mother barn owl stays almost continuously on the eggs during incubation while the father handles all the provisioning outside.