By EMILY D. COOK / Community Columnist

Alabama is home to four common species of owls and you can find a few of them living in Oak Mountain State Park.

Several other owls are visitors to Alabama. Alabama’s owls include the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), the Barred Owl (Strix varia), the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), and the Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio).

Naturally living in the park are the Barred Owl and the Screech Owl, and potentially the Great Horned Owl.

In captivity along the Treetop Nature Trail, you can see the Barred, Barn and Great Horned Owls.

The Great Horned Owl is considered to be Alabama’s largest owl species, with a wingspan of about 5 feet.

The Barred Owl is a close second with a wingspan of about 4–4 ½ feet.

The Barn Owl has a wingspan of about 3 feet.

The smallest species of owl is the Eastern Screech Owl, who has a wingspan of about 10 inches. Yes, I said inches! Much smaller compared to the other three.

Three of the four are in the same family and have many characteristics in common. The fourth, the Barn Owl, is in a separate family, and a distinguishing characteristic is the heart-shaped facial disc instead of the round disc of the others.

The three larger species eat similar prey items such as mice, rats, rabbits and squirrels, but the smaller Screech Owl has a diet that includes mice but gears more toward crickets, frogs, moths and spiders.

The Barred Owl likes to snack on crayfish, and the Great Horned Owl is one of the few animals that regularly eat skunks.

It’s a good thing that they have no sense of smell.

Owls are mainly nocturnal so it may be difficult for you to hear or see them in the park, with the exception of visiting Treetop; however, if you stay the night with us, you should have the opportunity to hear them.

Barred and Great Horned Owls can be seen during the daylight on occasion.

Please remember that you keep Alabama State Parks open by visiting them.

For more information on owls, visit Outdooralabama.com/owls.