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The barn owl (Tyto alba) is an expert night-hunter which occurs over much of the USA, Europe and elsewhere. It often roosts in barns or other buildings, but also in natural desert locations. It feeds mainly on rats and mice, which it locates by its acute vision and hearing. The flattened facial disk focuses sound to the ears. Like all owls, it is silent in flight, due to the "soft edge" of the feathers, which muffle sound. This captive specimen was photographed during a demonstration of hunting behaviour at the Sonoran Desert Museum, Arizona. For other birds of prey:
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