A species
Barn owl
Tyto alba
The night hunter that hears in total darkness
You and the barn owl last shared an ancestor about 320 million years ago (on 4 December, if life's history were one year).
This pale hunter can find and catch a mouse in total darkness using sound alone. It is a bird, and a surprising cousin of the emperor penguin and ruby-throated hummingbird shown beside it on the tree. Its white heart-shaped face works like a satellite dish, catching faint rustles and funnelling them to its ears.
One ear opening sits higher than the other, so its brain can compare the two signals to tell where a sound is and how high up it is. Soft fringes on its wing feathers break up the air and make flight almost silent. With wings about a metre across, about as wide as a child's outstretched arms, it can glide slowly with little flapping while it listens.
It eats mainly mice, voles and shrews, swallowing them whole and later coughing up the fur and bone as a pellet from its mouth. By day it rests alone or in pairs in hollow logs, caves, dense trees or quiet buildings. It stays in the same area all year and does not migrate.
A screech, not a hoot
Its common call is a rough hissing screech lasting about 2 seconds. It also whistles, wheezes and snaps its bill.
Eyes built for night
Its eyes are about twice as light-sensitive as ours. Slow swaying and bobbing of its head helps it judge distance.
Still common worldwide
Scientists list it as not threatened worldwide, with stable numbers. It is not currently at risk of dying out.