The barn owl has a distinctive facial ruff that helps channel sound toward its ears.
Its heart-shaped facial disc is formed by stiff feathers arranged around the eyes and bill. The disc acts like a sound-collecting surface, directing noises toward the ears and helping the owl locate prey in darkness.
Barn owls often hunt rodents over grassland, farmland, marshes, and open woodland. Their pale plumage and silent flight have inspired names such as ghost owl, but those names do not identify a separate species.
The barn owl is different from the owls with visibly offset ear openings, such as many members of the Strigidae family. Its asymmetrical ears and facial disc work together, while its soft flight feathers reduce aerodynamic noise during hunting.