Barn owls in California: Range, calls, nesting and legal protection

There are barn owls throughout California, and they live here year-round. CDFW's habitat account describes the barn owl as a common resident of open country across California, from sea level to about 5,500 feet, often near human communities. It does not migrate, and a pair keeps roughly the same home range through the year. Barn owls live in Northern and Southern California alike, and CDFW's account lists them as residents of every Channel Island except San Nicolas.

The official state checklist now lists the species as American Barn Owl, Tyto furcata. The barn owl is not endangered or threatened, but California's birds-of-prey law and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protect the owl, its nest and its eggs.

This guide covers how to identify a barn owl, where it lives in California, its habitat, diet and nesting, its calls, the name change, its legal status and the owls it can be confused with. It is part of our guide to the birds of California and our guide to birds of prey in California.

American barn owl at a glance: Size, season and status in California:

Sources: CBRC checklist (September 8, 2026); CDFW CWHR account B262; All About Birds (size); Fish and Game Code; 50 CFR 10.13.

Barn owl identification: A pale, heart-faced owl with no ear tufts:

The barn owl is a medium-sized owl, about the size of a crow, with long, rounded wings, a short tail, long legs and a smoothly rounded head with no ear tufts. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds describes it as "ghostly pale." Its face, underparts and the undersides of its wings are white, and the face is shaped like a heart. The head, back and upper wings are a mix of buff and gray, and the eyes are dark. Females are often darker than males, though the two overlap.

That pale plumage explains the "white barn owl" many Californians report. Seen at night in car headlights or against a dark sky, a barn owl can look entirely white. Its flight is buoyant and loping.

The Cornell Lab's identification page gives a length of 12.6 to 15.8 inches, a wingspan of 39.4 to 49.2 inches and a weight of 14.1 to 24.7 ounces, or roughly 0.9 to 1.5 pounds. It is larger than a screech-owl and smaller than a great horned owl.

American barn owl name: From Tyto alba to Tyto furcata:

Until 2024 the barn owl was treated as one widespread species under the name Tyto alba. All About Birds reports that in 2024 ornithologists split it into three species. They are the American barn owl of the Americas, the Western barn owl of Europe, Africa and western Asia, and the Eastern barn owl of South Asia to Australia. California's checklist follows the new arrangement and lists the bird as American Barn Owl, Tyto furcata. The federal migratory bird list and CDFW's older habitat account still use Tyto alba. They refer to the same owl in California.

Barn owls in California: Year-round in open country below 5,500 feet:

Barn owls occur through almost all of California's lowlands and foothills. CDFW's account lists grassland, chaparral, riparian woodland and other wetlands among its habitats. It avoids dense forest and open desert, and it is often found close to human communities. Owls use open land for hunting and nearby cliffs, ledges, buildings, trees or snags for roosting and nesting.

The species is active all year and is not migratory. CDFW's account says a pair keeps roughly the same home range through the year. One study near Davis in the 1940s found a hunting range of about 165 acres. The owl is primarily a night hunter, with limited activity at dawn and dusk. All About Birds notes that it may hunt by day in hard winters or when food is short.

Barn owl habitat, diet and nesting in California: Rodents, ledges and nest boxes:

The barn owl is a rodent specialist. CDFW's account says it feeds mainly on mice, rats, voles, pocket gophers and ground squirrels. It also takes shrews, insects, crustaceans, reptiles and amphibians, and small birds such as blackbirds become important food in winter. It hunts on the wing, from a perch and by hovering over open fields, wetlands and grassland. Its hearing is exceptional. All About Birds says its ability to locate prey by sound is the best of any animal tested, good enough to catch mice in complete darkness. Barn owls swallow prey whole and cough up pellets of fur and bone about twice a day.

Barn owls usually nest on ledges, in crevices or in other sheltered spots on cliffs and human-made structures. They also use cavities in trees and snags, burrows, culverts and nest boxes. For roosting they use dense trees and shrubs, buildings and cliffs.

The nesting season is unusually long. CDFW's account says most breeding takes place from January through November, and pairs often raise two broods a year. Clutches range from three to 11 eggs and usually hold five to seven. Incubation lasts 21 to 24 days, and the male feeds the female while she sits. Young owls leave the nest at 52 to 70 days old. Clutch size and fledging success depend on how much prey is available. Prairie falcons, great horned owls and golden eagles prey on young barn owls.

People who want to put up a barn owl box can find plans through the Cornell Lab, which advises installing the box well before nesting season and adding a guard to keep predators from the eggs and young.

Barn owl calls and sounds: A harsh scream instead of a hoot:

Barn owls do not hoot like most owls. The Cornell Lab's sound page describes the main call as a long, harsh scream lasting about two seconds. Males give it most often, sometimes repeatedly while flying, and females give it rarely. A softer, wavering version of the scream serves as a courtship call when a male shows a female a nest site, and females use it to beg food from males.

At the nest, a disturbed barn owl gives a loud hiss lasting three to four seconds. Agitated owls also snap their bills, and males sometimes clap their wings once or twice in display flight. Recordings are on the All About Birds sound page.

Barn owl legal status in California: A protected raptor under state and federal law:

The barn owl does not appear on CDFW's July 2026 list of endangered and threatened animals, and it is not one of the fully protected birds in Fish and Game Code section 3511. It is protected all the same.

Fish and Game Code section 3503.5 makes it unlawful to take, possess or destroy any hawk or owl, or its nest or eggs, except as the code or its regulations allow. Section 3503 protects the nests and eggs of all birds. The barn owl is also a nongame bird under section 3800, which may not be taken except as the code or Commission rules allow. CDFW's Raptors of California page cites these sections among the laws that protect all of California's raptors.

Federally, the barn owl is on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act list in 50 CFR 10.13, under the name Tyto alba. Fish and Game Code section 3513, in effect since October 2025, makes it unlawful under state law to take or possess any bird designated under that act as of January 1, 2025, except as federal rules allow.

Similar species to the barn owl in California: Short-eared, long-eared and burrowing owls:

Three California owls can be mistaken for a barn owl, and the Cornell Lab's comparison page gives the marks that separate them.

• Short-eared owl. It is darker brown overall, with heavily streaked underparts, and is often active in daylight. CDFW's habitat account describes it as a widespread winter migrant in California, found mainly in the Central Valley, the western Sierra Nevada foothills and along the coast.
• Long-eared owl. It has an orange facial disc and long ear tufts. The barn owl's face is white and tuftless. CDFW's habitat account calls it an uncommon year-round resident in most of California and a winter visitor in the Central Valley and the southern deserts.
• Burrowing owl. It is smaller, with longer legs, and it hunts on or near the ground by day, when barn owls are usually resting. Our guide to burrowing owls in California covers it.

The great horned owl is larger and much darker, with ear tufts and yellow eyes. See our guide to great horned owls in California.

Barn owls in California: A common owl of farms, fields and towns:

Barn owls in California are common, year-round residents of open country from the coast to the foothills, and they often live close to people. They hunt rodents by sound at night, scream rather than hoot and have a nesting season that runs through most of the year. California's official checklist now calls the species the American barn owl, while the federal list keeps the old name. Under either name, state and federal law protect every barn owl, nest and egg in California.