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Platte River Status: An uncommon permanent resident, primarily in the western half of the study area.

Breeding Range: A fairly common and widely distributed nesting species in the Platte River Valley physiographic region west from Dawson County. Rare and very local elsewhere. Short (1961) recorded this species commonly at Gothenburg, Dawson County in 1956 and 1957.

Breeding Population: Because of the secretive habits and nocturnal activity patterns of common barn-owl, we failed to record any on our random census plots in 1979-1980.

Habitat: Common barn-owl occupies a wide range of open habitats throughout its range. In our area, most nests have been located in natural or excavated cavities in outcroppings or road cuts. Tout (1947) described a nest in Lincoln County in the side of a canyon south of North Platte, Lincoln County. Rising (1974) recorded this species in riparian woodlands and badlands in western Kansas where nests were placed in cliffs or in trees.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: Initially this species benefited from man due to their affinity for old barn lofts. Recent changes in building construction methods and in removal of old buildings, has altered many vital nesting sites. Common barn- owls have benefited from highway construction activities that result in exposed cliff faces in the rights-of-way that provide sites for nest construction. Currently this species is experiencing a population decline throughout North America (Robbins et al. 1986).

Nesting Data: Faanes located an active nest in an open clay road cut at the entrance to the Clear Creek Waterfowl Management area, Keith County, on 3 June 1979. An adult female possessing a brood patch was found dead on the highway 0.2 km east of Sutherland, Lincoln County, on 2 June 1979. Tout (1947) mentions a nest in Lincoln County on 16 August 1916. The University of Nebraska State Museum contains a common barn-owl specimen (ZM 14254) collected at Cedar Point, Keith County, during the 1982 summer. Johnsgard (1979) reported that in Kansas eggs are laid from April to July.