Barn owl

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Barn owl

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>A barn owl’s right ear is positioned higher up on the head than the left one to help with locating sound sources. It can locate a mouse, or a rat, rustling through leaf-litter in the dead of night. Even in total darkness, this silent killer needs just two sound ‘fixes’ to pin-point a rodent’s location and strike it with unerring lethality. Picture: Larry Cummins</p>

outdoors

Did other birds copy owls' state-of-the-art navigation system?

A new harrier biology study says these large daylight-hunting hawks have evolved an auditory system similar to owls

<p>A study by Birdwatch for Cork County Council shows that the barn owl population of the county at its greatest recorded level in 50 years. Picture: Larry Cummins</p>

outdoors

'Tis the season... for barn owl nest box maintenance

<p>The ghostly form of the barn owl, drifting silently over their hunting grounds in the dead of night, was a more common sight in the Irish countryside in generations past. The eerie screech of the barn owl, which gave rise to myths of the Banshee, was a familiar and welcomed sound in the early Spring. Picture: Mike Brown</p>

outdoors

Cork barn owl population on the increase

Head-turning: Cork sees surge in barn owl numbers thanks to efforts of volunteers

munster

Head-turning: Cork sees surge in barn owl numbers thanks to efforts of volunteers

Public asked to help track a number of barn owls in Cork

munster

Public asked to help track a number of barn owls in Cork

The Beara rainforest: when healthy natural habitats are given a chance, 'the wild will return'

outdoors

The Beara rainforest: when healthy natural habitats are given a chance, 'the wild will return'

New nest box scheme: Barn owls 'pay their keep' by eating rodents

New nest box scheme: Barn owls 'pay their keep' by eating rodents

Farmers get payments for helping the barn owl — and may no longer need to use poison to control rats and mice on farms

Thu, 15 Sep, 2022

Barn Owl

Donal Hickey: Have you heard a banshee wailing? It might have been a barn owl

The Irish name for the barn owl is ‘screachog reilige’ (graveyard screecher) and that explains why its nocturnal cry might unsettle folk

Mon, 14 Feb, 2022

Irish Examiner view: Save barn owls

Irish Examiner view: Save barn owls

At a time when the extinction of wildlife is accelerating, it is heartening to see that a group of volunteers has succeeded in reversing that trend, at least in one small pocket of the world.

Mon, 04 Jan, 2021