Most owls have excellent nocturnal vision but are helpless in total, complete darkness. Not so the remarkable barn owl (Tyto alba). Differing from the more traditional owls, barn owls are members of the family Tytonidae, a small family of birds with distinctive ear bones. These birds are keen hunters capable of acoustic location in total darkness without the help of any photons!

A nocturnal owl, Tyto alba is one of the few birds that are virtually pandemic in its distribution, inhabiting all continents except Antarctica. With a distinctive appearance known to most of us, this owl has a heart-shaped facial disc that funnels sounds to its paired, but asymmetrically placed, ear holes. These ear holes allow for very accurate localisation of sound so that the barn owl can actually strike its prey in total darkness. Boasting several novel anatomical and neurological design features, the asymmetric ears and auditory processing of this owl are capable of detecting very slight interaural time differences. That ability enables a most enviable auditory sensory mechanism that provides accurate …