There was a small owl on my barn a few nights ago. It was very cold outdoors, so I guess it came in to warm up. It was sitting on a wall mounted hay feeder, and did not seem concerned that I was near it. I was feeding my horses, and I was about 8 feet away from it, when I saw it. I got as close as about 3 feet, just to look at it. I did not want to scare it outdoors in this cold so I did not get closer.
It stood about 7 inches tall, had a face looking almost like a house cat, with large eyes and ears a little more narrow than a cat, but about as long (tall), compared to body size. The face was flat, just like a cat too. The body was about as thick as that of a common pigeon, and had stripes on it. It was a cute little critter.....
At one point, one of my horses came over by me to see if I had any treats, and the owl moved it's head and followed the horse, and it did thee same when I moved, but it did not seem scared.
I'm trying to identify the breed. There is a website with 18 owl photos, I have eliminated all the ones that lack ears, and a few more with bizarre looking faces.
This owl (the one i saw) was seen in the Midwest, USA. Any idea what I had in my barn?
Thanks