Barn Owl

Like most owls, the barn owl is nocturnal, relying on its acute sense of hearing when hunting in complete darkness. It often becomes active shortly before dusk but can sometimes be seen during the day when relocating from one roosting site to another. In Britain, on various Pacific Islands, and perhaps elsewhere, it sometimes hunts by day. The owl's daylight hunting may depend on whether it can avoid being mobbed by other birds during that time. In Britain, some birds continue to hunt by day—even when mobbed by such birds as magpies, rooks, and black-headed gulls—possibly because the previous night has been wet, making night hunting difficult. By contrast, in southern Europe and the tropics, the birds seem to be almost exclusively nocturnal, with the few birds that hunt by day being severely mobbed.