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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Tytonidae
  4. ›
  5. Tyto
  6. ›
  7. Eastern Barn Owl
Eastern Barn Owl
Photo · (c) Rolf Lawrenz, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Eastern Barn Owl

Tyto javanica(Gmelin, JF, 1788)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Native
Order
STRIGIFORMES
Family
Tytonidae
Genus
Tyto

At a glance

The Eastern Barn Owl, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Origin
Native
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The Eastern barn owl is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the American barn owl group, the western barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl make up the genus Tyto. The cosmopolitan barn owl is recognized by most taxonomic authorities. A few separate them into distinct species, as is done here. The eastern barn owl is native to southeastern Asia, New Zealand, and Australasia.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see an Eastern Barn Owl?

The Eastern Barn Owl is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Eastern Barn Owl live in Australia?

The Eastern Barn Owl is native to Australia, recorded across 86 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingOR, AU, PO : south and south-east Asia to Australasia and south-west Pacific

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Resident
  • Passage

8 regions recorded