Barn Owl Sounds: Song, Alarm call & Flight call
Hear what the Barn Owl sounds like: real field recordings including its song, alarm call and flight call, each played with its recordist's credit and licence.
This page documents the voice of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) through real field recordings, grouped by the kind of sound each one captures. Every clip is a real recording made in the wild, played with its recordist's credit and licence — listen section by section to tell this bird's different sounds apart.
Pair what you hear with the full Barn Owl profile — plumage, size, range and where to see one.
The Barn Owl has 5 field recordings on Birbs covering 3 kinds of sound: its song, alarm call and flight call.
Song 1 recording
The song is a bird's most elaborate vocalisation, used mainly to claim a territory and attract a mate. In many species it is sung mostly by males and peaks in the breeding season.
Alarm call 1 recording
Alarm calls are short, sharp, urgent notes given when a predator or other threat is near — often understood by other species too.
Flight call 3 recordings
Flight calls are the notes a bird gives on the wing, helping flocks stay together — and a key way researchers monitor nocturnal migration.
About these recordings
The audio comes from the xeno-canto community archive, where field recordists share their recordings under Creative Commons licences. Each player shows who recorded the clip and the licence it is shared under, and links through to the recording's own page. Recording quality and background noise vary — these are wild birds recorded in the field, not studio audio.
Birds in this guide
Least Concern
Birb mood:
the heart-faced ghost
