Little Owl - Athene noctua

Little Owl

Athene noctua

Order : Strigiformes

Family : Strigidae ;

Biometrics :

Size : 21 à 23 cm
Wingspan : 50 à 56 cm
Weight : Femelle : 150 à 200 g ; Mâle : 140 à 180 g

Longevity : 16 years

IUCN conservation status :

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

Geographic range :

Synonyms : Domovoy Sych (ru), Minervauggla (sv), Mochuelo común (es), Civetta (it), Steinkauz (al), Steenuil (nl), Little Owl (en)

Physical description :
Little Owl has grey-brown upperparts, spotted with white. Underparts are whitish, with broad grey-brown streaks. Tail is brown, barred with white spots line.
Flat head is rounded, brown in colour, finely streaked with pale grey. Face is marked by dark areas below the eyes. Facial disks are bordered with white. Eyes are yellow with conspicuous white eye brow. Bill is greenish. Legs and feet are feathered, covered with pale buff feathers.
Both sexes are similar, with female slightly larger than male.
Juvenile resembles adults, but duller. It lacks the white streaks on crown.
Two morphs, pale and dark, are observed in this species. There are seven races, with decreasing colours to the South and East, with some exceptions.

Mythology - Symbols : Little owl was the wisdom's bird among the Greeks who engraved its effigy on some of their currencies (still on Euro today). Little owl was Goddess Athena's companion, from whom it got its generic name.

Voice :
Sound from CD 'Tous les Oiseaux d'Europe' by Jean C. Roché by courtesy of Sittelle and CEBA. Little Owl's call is a loud, ringing 'werro'. We can also hear its song, a sharp, clear, mewing 'kEE-ew', and a whistling 'goooek'. Female gives higher-pitched and more nasal calls. Alarm call is a loud, shrill 'kyitt-kyitt'.

Habitat : Little Owl lives in flat or hilly open countries of all kinds, such as farmlands, lands with scattered trees, open lands broken by banks, stone walls or rocky slopes. They may also be found in orchards, ruins, villages, semi-desert and deserts.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Little Owl lives in Europe, Asia east to Korea, and northern Africa. This species is resident in the temperate and warmer parts of its range.
It was introduced into Britain from Holland in 1889, but it is now very well established. It was also introduced in New Zealand in 1906 and 1910.

Behaviour : Little Owl is active night and day, but it hunts mostly at night, dawn and dusk. During the day, it is often perched on conspicuous poles or trees. Its most frequent preys are insects, spiders, mice and voles. When hunting, Little Owl performs a rapid direct flight, dropping from the air to the prey and catches it. It carries it to a cavity in tree to eat the prey. Little Owl has powerful talons and it is able to tackle mammals and birds of its own size. It hovers to catch insects.
More terrestrial than other owls, it often hunts on the ground, and also nests in burrows.
When the Little Owl is agitated, it bobs in an upright posture and bows. Sometimes, it is very upright and at other times, it is crouched when perched. It can walk, run or hop easily on the ground. It may jerk its body from side to side, bobbing head up and down. Head may even turn upside down. Little Owl perches and stays immobile for hours.
Little Owl rejects small pellets from their favourite roosts or nest site. These oval pellets accumulate on the ground below this perch.
Male establishes its territory in early February, singing its familiar 'goooeeek' calls night and day. Courtship starts in March, when female responds to the male's calls.

Flight : Little Owl has deeply undulating flight with alternated wing beats and closed wings, over long distances. When it pursues some prey, its flight is more direct. Its rapid wing beats are characteristic of heavy and bounding flight action. They fly relatively low over the ground.

Reproduction-nesting : Little Owl's nest may be located on the ground in burrows, or in holes in trees, rocks or buildings. The cavity has usually two exits. The same nest site is used year after year. It doesn't add other nesting materials.
This species breeds from March to August.
Female lays 3 to 5 smooth white eggs in late April. Incubation usually starts with the first egg laid, but sometimes, female wait for complete clutch. Incubation lasts about 28 to 29 days, by female, fed by the male. Chicks are altricial, covered with creamy down, turning later to reddish-grey. They are fed by both adults, but male provides food for the first two weeks for the whole family. After this time, young are able to tear food themselves, and female can help the male for hunting.
Young fledge at about 35 days after hatching, and parents feed them some time more. They become independent by 9 to 10 weeks;
This species produces one or two broods per season.

Food habits : Little Owl feeds mainly on invertebrates and earthworms, but also small mammals, birds and amphibians.

Protection / threats : Little Owl populations declined in the 1960's with the use of pesticides. Since these products are banned, this species is now stable in numbers.
Changes in their habitat, loss of old hedgerow trees, and severe winters may take part in some declines of populations.
The species is widespread in central and southern Europe, but numbers in many European countries have fallen in recent years.
These Owls were introduced in New Zealand to control small birds become pests in orchards. They are now widespread in this country.
Introduced in Britain at the end of the 19th, Little Owl however was native from this country, with fossils records in Derbyshire from half million years ago.

Other links :
Iucn
Birdlife

Specification sheet created by Nicole Bouglouan

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