e expansion of urban areas into pastoral countrysides has destroyed owl hunting and nesting habitat. The use of pesticides may have impacted many owl populations by indirectly poisoning them or by killing off their food source. The relative importance of these factors in the overall decline of the species is unknown.
The loss of nesting sites may be offset by installing artificial nest boxes (Figure 5). Barn owls will readily occupy these structures if they are provided. The preservation of large trees and the maintenance of open, grassy areas also would be beneficial for these owls. Furthermore, reduced use of pesticides would minimize the risk of accidental poisoning of barn owls.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2003. Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas: A Collaborative Study of Florida's Birdlife. http://www.wildflorida.org/bba
Lee, C.H. 1997. Barn owl for field rat control in cocoa. Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Science 25(1):43–54.
Marti, C.D. 1992. Barn owl. In The Birds of North America – Life Histories for the 21st Century (A.F. Poole, P. Stettenheim and F.B. Gill, eds.). The American Ornithologists Union and The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Pp. 5–15
Taylor, I. 1994. Barn Owls: Predator-Prey Relationships and Conservation. Cambridge: University Press. 304 p.
Van Vuren, D.; Moore, T.G.; and Ingels, C.A. 1998. Prey selection by barn owls using artficial nest boxes. California Fish and Game 84(3):127–132.