Tyto alba

The barn owl is easily recognizable with its heart-shaped facial disc. Its eyes are dark. Its back is covered with honey-golden feathers, contrasting with a cinnamon-white chest and belly. At 20 inches, it is a tall owl, with a wingspan of 46 inches.

It is a nocturnal hunter, catching and feeding on rodents. It is particularly suited for agricultural areas. Many farmers erect barn owl boxes to attract the birds to help keep rodent populations under control. There are barn owls using boxes for nesting and roosting at the hay pole barn on Antelope Island State Park near the bison corrals.

They can triangulate sounds, to locate rodents with pinpoint accuracy even in total darkness. Barn owls, like other owls, cast up pellets of undigested body parts of their prey. Breaking apart these pellets reveals the hair and bones of animals the owl has eaten. There are many barn owl pellets on the observation tower at the Nature Conservancy Great Shoreline Preserve in west Layton. Be sure to microwave pellets and wear a protective mouth covering whenever examining them. These safeguards can prevent accidental inhalation of any live bacteria that may be present.

Barn owls are widespread through Utah. Occasionally, when snow is deep, barn owls can be found hunting during the day. The deep snow prevents them from easily locating prey.

They are declining in some parts due to habitat loss, where farmland is being converted into subdivisions.

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* BILL FENIMORE is owner of the Layton Wild Bird Center, www.wildbird. com/layton. Join the Wild Bird Center for a free bird walk to the Nature Conservancy Great Shoreline Preserve Saturday at 8 a.m. Call 801-525-8400 for more information.