My Owl Mission-Part 7-Long Eared Owls/Barn Owls

Long Eared Owls and Barn Owls are nemesis's for me. I have yet to find one, but just maybe this will be the year...

Barn Owls are the most widely distributed owls of our world and can be found everywhere except Antarctica. They are 13-16 in long, and are the best hunters of all owls using sound alone. Their facial disks are built so precise, that they can hunt in complete darkness, and even locate mice under the snow. They nest in tree cavities and have been known to use buildings (the reason for their common name) and caves as other resources.

LEO's are 14-16 in. tall, and their habitat is dense vegetation bordering open grassland and forests. They can locate and kill mice in complete darkness. Their food source is small mammals and sometimes birds. Long Eared Owls are considered endangered in Illinois.

I searched this past weekend for a Long Eared, but came up empty. I did get some cool shots of Cedar Waxwings for an upcoming post--stay tuned...

This concludes the series on owls. Every owl I have featured here can be found in Illinois. If any of you ever find an owl, please let Hannibal know, or any other interesting animal for that matter.