You may spot barn owls somewhere on social media, or even in nature. This species distributes widely, making them one of the most common and loved owls in the world. Born with round big eyes and a heart shape on the face, these flying creatures become conspicuous wherever they appear.

But this doesn’t happen with the black barn owls. They are extremely rare, just 1 in 100,000. If you have an opportunity to see them in real life, make sure that you grasp it.

Currently, there only three black barn owls in the UK and they are all living in sanctuaries.

Most of us are curious about their black plumage. How these barn owls wear that charismatic black coat? They look like dark knights.

Here is the explanation. Their black is caused a gene mutation called melanism, the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair.

Like many other melanistic animals, the unique plumage brings them a lot of threat and danger. The first comes from their mothers. These black barn owls tend to be rejected and killed by their mother.

“They are a different colour and in nature, and especially with barn owls, it tends to be survival of the fittest. Black barn owls tend to be smaller [than normal barn owls] and sometimes they have problems with their vision and hearing,” says Ms Manarin, an owner of a black owl.

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These owls are also easily spotted and killed by predators when living in the wild.

Read more at Animal World category