Barn Owls Evolution and Ecology

With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings, and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved bird which has fascinated people from many cultures throughout history. How did the barn owl colonise the world? What adaptations have made this bird so successful? How is the increasing impact of human disturbance affecting these animals? Answering these questions and more, Roulin brings together the main global perspectives on the evolution, ecology and behaviour of the barn owl and its relatives, discussing topics such as the high reproductive potential, physiology, social and family interaction, pronounced colour variation and global distribution. Accessible and beautifully illustrated, this definitive volume on the barn owl is for researchers, professionals and graduate students in ornithology, animal behaviour, ecology, conservation biology and evolutionary biology, and will also appeal to amateur ornithologists and nature lovers.

1. Introduction; 2. Conservation; 3. Parasites and predators; 4. Physiology in an ecological context; 5. Morphology in an ecological context; 6. Foraging; 7. Sexual behaviour; 8. Reproduction; 9. Parental care; 10. Sibling interactions; 11. Demography; 12. Plumage coloration.

Alexandre Roulin is Full Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the Université de Lausanne, Switzerland. He has published more than 240 research papers, the majority of which are on the barn owl. He currently participates in a project that combines ecology and reconciliation in the Middle East, which places the barn owl at the centre of ecological discussions between Israel, Palestine and Jordan on the use of pesticides and agriculture.