The Barn Owl Wisconsin Status: Endangered This graceful but
ghostly bird can locate a mouse in the dark of night by sound
alone without the aid of external ears. Barn owls don't have ear
"tufts" like great horned owls or screech owls. They have ear
openings hidden behind their round facial disk of feathers. The
feathers help direct sound into the ears. Barn owls are one of
Wisconsin's best natural mousetraps, consuming one and-a-half
times their weight in food each day! That's like a 100-pound
person eating 150 pounds of food. Look out mice, meadow voles,
shrews, and other small animals. Some modern agricultural
practices have reduced barn owl habitat by shifting from cover
crops such as oats and hay to row crops like corn. This removes
food and shelter for mice and voles. The owls then lose their
local food source. Barn owls have a hard time surviving severe
winters if they can't find enough food, since their bodies store
little fat reserves. Typically they hunt along uncultivated
field edges, fence rows, an