10×14 watercolor enhanced colored pencil on Arches satin finish watercolor paper. Original unavailable. As of 03-22-12, 566 views and 12 favorited.

CHALLENGES: The Wonder of Wings – Just Owls – Top 10;
FEATURES: Only Owls; Painters Academics; Painted Nature; Birds, Birds, Birds; Mixed Media; Amazing Wildlife; This & That;

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) or, to distinguish it from relatives, Common Barn Owl, is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. This is one of the two groups of owls, the other being the typical owls Strigidae. Any member of the family Tytonidae is sometimes referred to as a barn owl. The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of Tytonidae, and one of the most widespread species of any bird.
Description This is a pale, long-winged, long-legged owl, 33–39 cm in length with an 80–95 cm wingspan. Its head and upperparts are buff, and the underparts are white. The face is heart shaped.

It has an effortless wavering flight as it quarters pastures or similar hunting grounds. Alternative names often refer to the appearance, white underparts, or eerie, silent flight, including Monkey-faced Owl, Ghost Owl, Church Owl, Golden Owl, Rat Owl and Stone Owl.

In the US it is incorrectly sometimes called Screech Owl because the Barn Owl has a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range. They also hiss like snakes. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence. Contrary to popular belief, they do not make the call “tu-whit to-whoo” (which is made by the Tawny Owl) (info from Wikipedia).

• Complete 07-12-2009 in 12.30 hours spread over 5 days