The Barn Owl is found worldwide in areas with mild winters. In Canada, it is restricted to southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. The species is currently not well monitored in Canada and is therefore considered data deficient in terms of the status of the current population relative to 1970. However, because of threats to its habitat, its small population size, and increasing levels of road-kill mortality, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the eastern population as Endangered and revised the status of the western population from Special Concern to Threatened (COSEWIC 2010i). Previously, the species was assessed as a whole as Special Concern (1984); subsequent assessments split the two sub-populations (COSEWIC 2010i). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Barn Owl populations in Canada face a number of threats. Habitat loss through urbanization and intensification of agriculture is a major issue over much of its range, as is the loss of nest sites when old barns and other structures are modernised (Marti et al. 2005, COSEWIC 1999). Due to these changing land-use practices, Barn Owls have been found to frequent roadside habitat to hunt, leaving them susceptible to collisions but also more likely to consume rodenticide-laden prey (Hindmarch et al. 2017). Collisions with vehicles on highways is an important and increasing source of mortality (Marti et al. 2005, COSEWIC 1999). Barn Owls have the highest road mortality rates among raptors (Boves and Belthoff 2012, Borda-de-Agua et al. 2014). Females and juveniles are most likely to be killed because they may disperse over longer distances (Boves and Belthoff 2012). The risk of Barn Owls consuming rodenticide-laden prey is also of increasing concern due to the toxicity and persistence of widely-used second generation rodenticides (Newton et al. 1991, Albert et al. 2009). Finally, the species does not fare well when there is harsh winter weather or long periods of deep snow cover, which limit the birds' ability to hunt (Marti et al. 2005). For information on the legal status of this species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and to view available recovery documents, see the SARA Registry.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
