Species

Barn Owl

L 35cm. Large head with white face; all white below except on the continent. Bars along wings show in flight.

Little Owl

L 22cm. Fierce face, yello eyes; dumpy, but bobs and stretches comically. Flight bounds up and down.

Long-Eared Owl

L 36cm. Slim but big; 'horns" raised in alarm. Stteaks; orange patch on wings.

Short-Eared Owl

L 38cm. Pale brown with brown and buff 'wrist' marks; belly unstreaked white

More species

Genus Otus - scops owls; includes Megascops, some 65 species
Genus Pyrroglaux - Palau Owl
Genus Gymnoglaux - Cuban Screech Owl
Genus Ptilopsis - white-faced owls, 2 species
Genus Mimizuku - Mindanao Eagle Owl
Genus Bubo - horned owls, eagle owls and fish owls; includes Nyctea, Ketupa and Scotopelia but possibly polyphyletic, some 25 species
Genus Strix - earless owls, some 15 species
Genus Ciccaba - 4 species
Genus Lophostrix - Crested Owl
Genus Jubula - Maned Owl
Genus Pulsatrix - spectacled owls, 3 species
Genus Surnia - Northern Hawk Owl
Genus Glaucidium - pygmy owls, about 30-35 species
Genus Xenoglaux - Long-whiskered Owlet
Genus Micrathene - Elf Owl
Genus Athene - 2-4 species (depending on whether Speotyto and Heteroglaux are included or not)
Genus Aegolius - saw-whet owls, 4 species
Genus Ninox - Australasian hawk-owls, some 20 species
Genus Uroglaux - Papuan Hawk
Genus Pseudoscops - Jamaican Owl and possibly Striped Owl
Genus Asio - eared owls, 6-7 species
Genus Nesasio - Fearful Owl
Genus Mascarenotus - Mascarene owls, 3 species; extinct (c.1850)
Genus Sceloglaux - Laughing Owl; extinct (1914?)
Genus Grallistrix - stilt-owls, 4 species; prehistoric
Genus Ornimegalonyx - Caribbean giant owls, 1-2 species; prehistoric

Placement unresolved
A Barn Owl, Tyto alba

"Otus" wintershofensis - fossil (Early/Middle Miocene of Wintershof West, Germany) - may be close to extant genus Ninox (Olson 1985:131)
"Strix" edwardsi - fossil (Late Miocene)
"Asio" pygmaeus - fossil (Early Pliocene of Odessa, Ukraine)
*Ibiza Owl, Strigidae gen. et sp. indet. - prehistoric (Sánchez Marco 2004)

Barn-owls

Genus Tyto - typical barn-owls,stand up to 3 feet tall some 15 species and possibly 1 recently extinct
Genus Phodilus - bay-owls, 1-2 extant species and possibly 1 recently extinct

Fossil genera

Basityto (Early Eocene of Grafenmühle, Germany)
Nocturnavis (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - includes "Bubo" incertus
Necrobyas (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene - Late Miocene) - includes "Bubo" arvernensis and Paratyto
Selenornis (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - includes "Asio" henrici
Prosybris (Early Oligocene? - Early Miocene)