Little owl
Little owls are the smallest British owl and are closely related to the American burrowing owl. They are an introduced species to the UK, but have been established for more than 100 years.
Statistics
Little owls have a wingspan of 54-58cm and are 21-23cm long. The males weigh an average of 170g and the females average 174g.
Physical Description
Their back and wings are a deep grey-brown, spotted with white. The underside is white with broad, broken streaks of grey-brown.
The face is marked by dark areas around the yellow eyes that give a frowning look.
Distribution
Little owls are widely distributed throughout England and the North and South Eastern parts of Wales. They have a wide distribution across the world, mostly in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Minor.
Habitat
They are present in open habitats such as farmland with hedges, ruins and other suitable nesting and hiding places. Little owls also occupy woodland, fields, coastal areas and semi-desert areas.
Behaviour
Little owls are mostly crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), but also hunt during the day. They feed on a wide variety of prey - mostly small mammals, such as mice, voles, shrews, even small rabbits, as well as insects, earthworms, snails, slugs and small fish.
They nest in tree holes, pollarded willows, walls of old buildings, rabbit burrows and cliff holes. The female lays 3-5 eggs in early May and incubates the eggs for 29 days. Only the male feeds the chicks at first, but later the female helps. After 26 days, the chicks leave the nest.
Conservation status
There is evidence to suggest that little owls were present in Britain between the last two ice ages, but they seem to have been only an occasional visitor to the UK, right up to the latter part of the 19th century.
Numerous unsuccessful re-introduction attempts were made in 1814, 1842 and the 1870s. Between 1889-90, large numbers of Dutch little owls were released in Northamptonshire with considerable success.
More introductions in Yorkshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire were made, which were also successful. Little owls are not considered to be at threat, and there is a population of 9,000 pairs in the UK.
Voice
The main call is a ringing kiew, kiew, repeated every few seconds. The second is a rapidly repeated, yelping wherrow. Little owls use a variety of chattering notes at the nest and in particular during the breeding season a loud hoo-oo note
If you have any questions about any of these pages then:-
Please feel free to e-mail me on info@gardenwildlife.co.uk
Or please talk to others in my wildlife Discussion Forum or Chat Room
