Barn owls live in open countryside where they can hunt small mammals and find quiet, sheltered places for daytime roosting and nesting. They are strongly associated with farms and old barns, but they also use hollow trees, cliffs, caves, church towers, silos, nest boxes, and abandoned buildings. In the broad traditional sense, barn owls and…
A barn owl can live for several years in the wild, although many die before reaching adulthood. Individuals that survive their dangerous first year often live much longer, while captive barn owls may survive for about two decades with specialist care. These pale, heart-faced birds also possess exceptional hearing, low-light vision, silent flight, and remarkable…
The Australian raven is a large, intelligent black bird found across much of mainland Australia. Adults are recognizable by their pale white eyes, glossy plumage, strong bill, and long throat feathers that form a shaggy “beard” when calling. Although Australians often call any large black corvid a crow, the Australian raven is a distinct species…
A barn owl flying across an open field is one of nature’s quietest and most graceful sights. Its broad wings, lightweight body, pale feathers, and slow wingbeats allow it to move through the darkness with very little sound. Barn owls usually fly at night while searching for mice, voles, shrews, and other small animals. Their…
The Saltmarsh Sparrow is a secretive coastal bird found almost entirely within tidal salt marshes of the eastern United States. Its orange facial markings, gray cheeks, streaked breast, and short pointed tail make it distinctive, although it is often confused with Nelson’s Sparrow. Rising sea levels, habitat loss, and increasingly frequent nest flooding have caused…
Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni) is a small, secretive marsh bird distinguished by its orange-buff face, gray cheek patches, finely streaked breast, and short tail. It breeds in scattered freshwater and coastal wetlands across northern North America before migrating to salt and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Older field guides may call it…
The Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima) is a dark, secretive songbird adapted to coastal marshes along the eastern and Gulf coasts of North America. Its unusually large bill, yellow facial marking, short tail, and buzzy song help separate it from other marsh sparrows. Although the species survives today, individual populations face serious threats from habitat loss,…
Bell’s Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli) is a small, long-tailed songbird associated with the dry shrublands of California and northwestern Mexico. Although its gray-and-brown plumage provides excellent camouflage, the bird can be recognized by its white eye ring, dark chest spot, and bold black-and-white throat pattern. It spends much of the day running beneath shrubs, searching for…
The Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) is a large, boldly patterned North American sparrow known for its chestnut-and-white face, dark breast spot, and white-edged tail. It lives mainly in open grasslands, pastures, farmland, and shrub-covered country across western and central North America. Unlike many plain brown sparrows, the Lark Sparrow is relatively easy to recognize once…
The Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) is a striking desert songbird recognized by its black throat, bold white facial stripes, and softly colored gray-brown body. It inhabits some of the hottest and driest landscapes in western North America, where it searches beneath shrubs for insects and seeds. Although its markings appear dramatic at close range, its…
