- Lifespan
- 4–15 years in the wild; typically 4–5 years
- Size & Weight
- 32–39 cm; wingspan 80–95 cm; 330–465 g (females larger than males)
- Habitat
- Open farmland, grassland, marshes, and moorland with suitable nesting sites such as barns, church towers, and cliff cavities.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK but patchily distributed; resident year-round with numbers supplemented by continental birds in autumn and winter. Absent or scarce in upland areas.
- Diet
- Hunts small mammals, primarily rodents and shrews, caught during nocturnal flights over open ground.
- Prey
- Bank voles, field voles, common shrews, wood mice, brown rats, and occasionally small birds
- Predators
- Golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, tawny owls, and foxes; chicks vulnerable to stoats and corvids
- Mating Season
- January to June
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4–7 eggs; incubation 29–34 days; fledging at 50–60 days. Usually one brood, occasionally two if conditions favour early laying.
- Behaviour
- Strictly nocturnal hunter with silent, buoyant flight; locates prey by sound using asymmetrical ear placement. Highly faithful to nest sites and partners; males perform dramatic heart-shaped facial discs during courtship displays.