Turkestan Eagle Owl - Buso turcomenus

The Turkestan Eagle Owl is an excellent example of how pale and grey th race of Eurasian Eagle owls are.

These birds, which range accross the dry regions of europe, are considerable smaller than their Northern european cousins.

It mainly nests on the ground with the female laying 2 to 5 eggs. The male will feed the female until the youngsters are about 4- 5 weeks old. the female will then help the male in hunting expeditions to provide food for the young.

Bengal Eagle Owl - Bubo Bubo Bengalenis

Length - male-18" female 24"
Distribution - India and Pakistan

The Bengal Eagle owl is a smaller, more richly coloured sub-species of the larger European Eagle owl.

Bengals make their nest scrapes in holes or on ledges but mainly on the ground. small to medium sized prey are taken such as insects rodents and even birds.1-4 eggs are laid and the female incubates for about 30035 days.

African Spotted Eagle Owl - Bubo Africanus
Length - male 17" Female 20"
Distribution - sub Sahara, Africa, southern and Central Arabia.

Little Owls - Athene noctura
Length - 190-230mm
Distribution - British Isles, southern Europe, North Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

Little Owls mainly hunt between dusk and dawn and their diet consists of insects, earwigs, moths, earthworms and some small rodents. When feeding young the diet can change to include small birds such as sparrows and Thrushes.

2-8 eggs are laid and incubated by the female as the male becomes the main food provider. They nest in tree holes, crevises in walls and occasionally will take another birds nest.

Introduced to Britain from Europe, the Little Owl thrives in Britain for a number of reasons. Generally they are not in competition with other British owls eat mainly insects and have a highly adaptable nature.

which results in nests and eggs being abandoned. Numbers and breeding sucess is clearly limited to population of prey animals.

Barn Owls - Tyto alba
Length - 14"
Distribution - British Isles, Europe, USA, most of south America, parts of Africa India and Australia

The Barn Owl looks white when caught in a car's headlights at night but it's true colours are a rich golden buff with white underparts. When hunting the Barn Owl employs different methods depending on the terrain. They are often seen quartering gracefully over open fields before hovering slightly then stooping on their prey. Another method is 'still hunting' where it will sit on a post watching and listening for the prey as it moves beneath it.

The Barn Owl does not depend on sight alone for hunting. It also uses it's very acute hearing to locate prey in complete darkness. Hardly any noise at all is made by the Barn Owl during flight but its call is a prolonged strangled shriek! Shrews, mice, field voles, water voles, brown rats, moles, small birds, beetles, moths and frogs make up it's diet. Nest sites include all barns, ruined buildings. church towers and hollows in trees. 4 to 6 eggs are laid in april or early May and are incubated in about 35 days. the young leave the nest after 9 to 12 weeks.