Barn Owl
Tyto alba
Photo taken by Marc Borom at the Sonoran Desert Museum,Pima Co., Arizona.
Wherever there are concentrations of rodents, barn owls are likely to be found provided there are suitable nesting and roosting sites nearby. Besides roosting in buildings, barn owls are frequent inhabitants of abandoned mine shafts which abound in parts of the Sonoran Desert. They can also use large or hollow trees such as athel and cottonwood. They are most abundant in areas near agriculture and fringes of urban areas, i.e. habitats favorable for rodents.