SIR HENRY, OUR ADOPTED OWL     

  Henry, a captive-bred European Barn Owl, was "chamber-raised" by his parents until the age of 5 weeks old. Chamber-raised means a hatchling remains in the "chamber" or "nest" with its parents and without any human interaction until it is removed for training. Spending the first few weeks of his life with his natural parents enabled Henry to "know" that he is a Barn Owl and allowed him to learn many normal Barn Owl behaviors. For the next 5 weeks, his care was provided by specialized handlers who began to "socialize" Henry with humans to prepare him for his future "job" as an education ambassador.

ARC had been seeking a rehabilitated Barn Owl capable of flight for over a year. With no suitable candidates available, ARC decided to purchase a captive-bred bird. Special adaptations like serrated primary feathers and legs feathered all the way to the toes allow them to fly silently and ARC feels it is important to include flight demonstrations with this interesting species in our education programs. European Barn Owls are very similar to the Common Barn Owl indigenous to the U.S. with the European species being a bit smaller and having a shorter tail.

By the age of 10 weeks, Henry was ready to travel to his new home here at ARC. Because the summer temperatures in Florida prohibited him from traveling by air, ARC's certified vet tech, Carol, flew to St. Louis and drove Henry home-over 1,000 miles! Henry quickly settled in at ARC and is now quite comfortable in his new surroundings. He enjoys being outside on the porch and will often hop down and wiggle his way between the fronds of huge staghorn fern near his perch to nap.

In the wild, Barn Owls perch high up in barns and other similar structures so it's no surprise that Henry inquisitively searches the rafters of the open-air education pavilion for a suitable perch. Henry is well mannered when on the falconer's glove and allows his handlers to gently lift the feathers behind his facial disk to show his large ears.

Although found on every continent except Antarctica, Barn Owls are elusive and rarely seen in the wild making Henry very popular with birding enthusiasts and the general public as well. Barn Owls are also called the "Valentine" or "Sweetheart" owl because of their heart-shaped face. Henry's darling face and sweet manner have earned him the well-deserved nickname of "Sir Henry the Heart Throb."