Little Owl

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Little Owl

The Little Owl (Athene noctua) is a bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
east to Korea

Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
, and north Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. It is not native to Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, but was introduced in the 19th century, and is now naturalised there.

This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owl

Typical owl

True owls or typical owls are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the Tytonidaes . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order ; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae....
s, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owl

Barn Owl

?:The city in Russia is spelled Barnaul.The Barn Owl is the most Cosmopolitan distribution species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds....
s, Tytonidae.

The Little Owl is a small owl

Owl

The Strigiformes are an order of bird of prey, comprising 200 species. Most are solitary, and Nocturnal animal, with some exceptions . Owls mostly hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish....
, 23-27.5 cm in length.

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Encyclopedia

The Little Owl (Athene noctua) is a bird

Bird

Europe

Asia

Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
, and north Africa

Africa

Great Britain

Typical owl

Barn Owl

Owl

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s, amphibians, but also small bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s and mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s. It is partly diurnal and often perches prominently during the day.

This is a sedentary species which is found in open country such as mixed farmland and parkland. It usually nests in holes in trees or rocks, laying 3-5 eggs which are incubated by the female for 28-29 days, with a further 26 days to fledging. Little Owls will also nest in buildings, both abandoned and those fitted with custom owl nest box

Nest box

A nest box, nestboxor birdhouse) is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for Wildlife and Domestication birds, but some mammal species may also use them....
es. If living in an area with a large amount of human activity, Little Owls may grow used to man and will remain on their perch, often in full view, while humans are around.

The adult Little Owl of the most widespread form, the nominate A. n. noctua, is white-speckled brown above, and brown-streaked white below. It has a large head, long legs, and yellow eyes, and its white “eyebrows” give it a stern expression. This species has a bounding flight like a woodpecker

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks....
. Juveniles are duller, and lack the adult's white crown spots. The call is a querulous kee-ik.

There is a pale grey-brown Middle East

Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
ern type known as The Syrian Little Owl, or A. n. lilith. Other forms include another pale race, the north African A. n. desertae, and two intermediate subspecies, A. n. indigena of southeast Europe and Asia Minor, and A. n. bactriana of central Asia.

The Little Owl was sacred to the goddess Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
, from whom it gets the generic name.

External links

on the Internet Bird Collection