The Story
I photographed this American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata) at San Antonio de Atenas, near Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in January 2021. It is native to North and South America and has been introduced to Hawaii. Many authorities still treat it as part of a single worldwide barn owl, but in 2009 König, Weick and Becking recognized it as a separate species based on DNA evidence. It is a medium-sized, pale owl with long wings, a short square tail and a heart-shaped face. IUCN assesses barn owls as one species, Tyto alba, and lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/20 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800. Florencia, the capital of Caquetá, is known as the golden gateway to the Colombian Amazon and was founded on December 25, 1902.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata) belongs to the family Tytonidae (Barn-Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025). Source: IUCN Red List