About the Little Owl
The little owl (Athene Noctua) is the smallest owl found in England. Its convex head and relatively thick plumage make it appear larger than it is. On average, females are slightly larger and heavier than males. However, the size overlap is so large that the sexes cannot be distinguished from each other in the field on the basis of size. Nor, for that matter, can this be done on the basis of plumage.
Little owls have a mottled plumage. The upper side is brown with white speckles and the underside whitish and densely streaked with brown. Although there is no pronounced mask, the light eye line and light chin accentuate the face, with the large eyes with yellow iris as a striking feature. The legs are long and white feathered.
The flight pattern is characterised by a fast, low, undulating flight in which the broad, rounded wings are clearly visible.
Photo gallery
Specifications
| Scientific name |
Athene Noctua
|
|---|---|
| Family |
Strigidae
|
| Habitat |
Woodland, Urban and Suburban, Farmland, Grassland
|
| Food |
Mice, earthworms, frogs, moles, insects and sometimes a small songbird.
|
| Height |
23-27,5cm
|
| Weight |
140-180g
|
| Lifespan |
1 - 15 years
|
| Breeding time |
April - May
|
| Nest |
The chicks leave the nest after about five weeks, but cannot fly properly right away by then. They will be cared for by their parents for another six weeks or so. A pair of little owls remain faithful to each other throughout their lives and will not change nesting sites easily.
|
| Sound |
The male's cry sounds like kie-kiew. The female replies with kie-oo. Little owls also call softly and dully: ‘poo poo...’
|
| Characteristics |
Little owls are partly active during the day and can often be observed open and exposed, sunbathing or sitting on the lookout. It is a fast flyer. Its flight is very similar to that of a woodpecker: rising and falling in arcs. No tree stands in its way, it goes straight through, deftly flying between the branches. However, evening hours are generally the hours of greatest activity for it. Little owls like an open, small-scale landscape with woods, hedgerows and standard orchards - a type of living space which is diminishing.
|
| Children |
4 white, spherical eggs
|