Barn Owl — Birds

The story behind the answer

This is a Barn Owl: note the distinctive heart-shaped white facial disc, pale underparts, golden-tawny back with fine speckling, and lack of ear tufts. In contrast, Long-eared and Short-eared Owls show obvious ear tufts (especially Long-eared), and the Tawny Owl is round-faced, chunky, and mottled brown rather than white-faced.

Barn Owls often nest in barns and church steeples and hunt open fields, emitting an eerie screech instead of a classic “hoot.” Their comb-like feather edges allow near-silent flight, and asymmetrical ears help pinpoint rodents in total darkness.