What Do Young Barn Owls & Raptors Eat?

Series Summary

Having a pet bird is a big responsibility for any animal lover. While on the surface, owning a bird may seem as easy as owning any other pet, birds require stringent, specific care to stay healthy. Each species has different needs: some birds are domesticated and adapt well to life in a small cage, while some are large, untamed and unruly, and are not appropriate for most people to keep as pets. In this free video series on birds, a bird caretaker discusses different species in the bird family. Learn about wild birds, their food and their behaviors. Find out how to train a domestic parrot, and teach a bird to talk through repetition. Get advice on caring for a sick bird, and find out what kinds of food domestic birds can eat. Keep a parrot active and engaged with homemade bird toys. Build a nesting box for different bird species. To fulfill curiosity or to prepare for a new pet, these bird caring tips are helpful and informative.

Video Transcript

"My name is Madeline Franco, and I'm here to talk about birds. If you pay attention to what's in the sky,you've undoubtedly on occasion, seen some raptors. Among those raptors, are barn owls. They're not seen as often during the day, but they are in cities more often, and in the country, where people habitate. They are a rather small raptor. They're about thirteen inches long, and they are very often nesting in old houses, and barns. People are curious. Well, what do they eat? Generally speaking, young barn owls eat what their parents bring them. They're not adept at hunting when they're very young, so their parents have to bring them all their food, which often consists of small rodents, mice. If the food supply is threatened, they might even get into frogs and larger insects, but they bring this back to the nest, and the baby birds eat them. When they become a little bit more adept at hunting themselves, they'll also go after mice and large insects, if absolutely necessary. Generally speaking, the larger barn owls, they like rodents of various types, and they will also eat the other things that I mentioned, frogs, and mice, voles. Things that you would find more often in the city."