Owl identification This evening I spotted this beautiful owl that had become the centre of concern of my neighbourhood birds. There was a joint commotion of the House crows, Jungle bablers, Bulbuls and Maynas, which is still going on. I wonder if this is a female Common Barn Owl. ![enter image description here]( Location: West Bengal, India. P.S. I couldn't get better pictures.

Based on the picture, this is a **Barn Owl** ( _Tyto alba_ ). There are several subspecies of Barn Owl, 35 in fact. This bird is most likely the subspecies "stertens" also known as the Indian Barn Owl.

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As to whether it is a female. It is dependent on the size and a few other features that cannot be determined in these photos.

> Females significantly larger than males in body mass, total length, beak length, tarsus length, foot length and width, and wing loading, but not in wing chord or tail length ( Marti 1990a ). Female plumage typically darker than that of males but sexes overlap in this regard.