The nocturnal raptor Barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most cosmopolitan of all wildlife species, demonstrating the broadest global distribution. It is found on all continents except Antarctica. In the USA, Barn owl lives mainly in areas with low-height vegetation, in grasslands and croplands in South America, Central America up to the borders of North America. In Europe, Barn owl populations are found in all countries of the Mediterranean, Spain, Italy, Greece, up until the northern countries like Sweden, Finland and Norway. Barn owl is also found in Russia, in a large part of Central and East Asia, Africa, India and Australia.
Source: BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2019) 2019. Tyto alba. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-3
In Greece, Barn owl is located throughout the country’s lowlands from Peloponnese to Macedonia and Thrace, always at low altitudes below 500 m. and mainly on agricultural land and rural ecosystems. It is also located in Greek islands such as Crete, the Ionian islands, several islands of North Aegean such as Chios, Samos, and Rhodes, to the Sporades, Evia, and the Cycladic islands but also the Dodecanese.
