Little owl
Athene noctua (Scopoli, 1769)
The little owl (Athene noctua) is a small bird in the owl subgroup, belonging to the family Strigidae and subfamily Surniinae within the order Strigiformes. Adults weigh 168.9 g, with reported values from 166 g to 175.5 g, and have a wingspan of 56 cm.
Quick facts about the little owl
It lays one clutch of 4 eggs per year, incubates them for 27.5 days, and has a lifespan of 11.08 years, with values up to 15.58 years reported.
- Weight
- 166 g – 175.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 22 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 56 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 11.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 15.6 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 27.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the little owl?
Photos of the little owl
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the little owl live?
Not recorded
What is the little owl?
The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at the end of the 19th century and into the South Island of New Zealand in the early 20th century.
This owl is a member of the typical or true owl family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl, the other grouping being the barn owls, Tytonidae. It is a small (approx. 22 cm long), cryptically coloured, mainly nocturnal species and is found in a range of habitats including farmland, woodland fringes, steppes and semi-deserts. It feeds on insects, earthworms, other invertebrates and small vertebrates. Males hold territories that they defend against intruders. This owl is a cavity nester, and a clutch of about four eggs is laid in spring. The female does the incubation and the male brings food to the nest, first for the female and later for the newly hatched young. As the chicks grow, both parents hunt and bring them food, and the chicks leave the nest at about seven weeks of age.
Being a common species with a wide range and large total population, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "least concern".
From the Wikipedia article “Little owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_owl&oldid=1383161410), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the little owl sound like?
Is the little owl endangered?
The little owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the little owl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- genusAthene
- SpeciesAthene noctua (Scopoli, 1769)
Synonyms Athene noctus, Carine noctua, Noctua passerina, Strix noctua
Other names and names in other languages (109)
- CucumiauEnglish
- Little night owlEnglish
- أم السهرArabic
- بوم صغيرArabic
- بومة صغيرةArabic
- بومة أم قويقArabic
- MuchueloAragonese
- becaAsturian
- fonsuAsturian
- MiagonAsturian
- miagónAsturian
- miagonaAsturian
- páxaru miagónAsturian
- rasaAsturian
- Dam xarabaçılıAzerbaijani
- БайғошBashkir
- Дамавы сычBelarusian
- Сыч-сіпельBelarusian
- Сыч-сiпельBelarusian
- Домашна кукумявкаBulgarian
- Обикновена кукумявкаBulgarian
- লিটল আউলBangla
- Kaouenn vihanBreton
- MussolCatalan
- mussol comúCatalan
- ИзитыманаMari
- Кил-ҫурт тӑманиChuvash
- sýček obecnýCzech
- Tylluan FachWelsh
- Tylluanod BachWelsh
- KirkeugleDanish
- KauzGerman
- KäuzchenGerman
- KäuzleinGerman
- SteinkauzGerman
- TotenvogelGerman
- ΚουκουβάγιαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΚουκουβάγιαGreek
- Μικρή κουκουβάγιαGreek
- NoktuoEsperanto
- Atena noktuoEsperanto
- atena strigetoEsperanto
- Mochuelo europeoSpanish
- kivikakkEstonian
- Mozolo arruntBasque
- بوف کوچکPersian
- جغد کوچکPersian
- minervanpöllöFinnish
- chevêche dathénaFrench
- Chevêche d'AthénaFrench
- Chevêche d’AthénaFrench
- Chouette ChevêcheFrench
- Ulchabhán beagIrish
- Ulchabhán beag ballachIrish
- comhachag bheagScottish Gaelic
- comhachagan beagaScottish Gaelic
- Moucho comúnGalician
- Hullad vegManx
- Obični ćukSerbian (Latin)
- כוס החורבותHebrew
- כּוֹס הֶחֳרָבוֹתHebrew
- sivi ćukCroatian
- kuvikHungarian
- Բվիկ տնայինArmenian
- Տնային բվիկArmenian
- HuoIdo
- KattuglaIcelandic
- CivettaItalian
- コキンメフクロウJapanese
- ჭოტიGeorgian
- КӀукӀумяуKabardian
- БайғызKazakh
- 금눈쇠올빼미Korean
- BûmekorikKurdish
- CorulaCornish
- SteekauzLuxembourgish
- SteekäizchenLuxembourgish
- Ччиккумявlbe
- paprastoji pelėdikėLithuanian
- PelėdikėLithuanian
- mājas apogsLatvian
- кукумјавкаMacedonian
- Хотны бүгээхэйMongolian
- हिमाली कोचलगाँडेNepali
- SteenuilDutch
- kyrkjeugleNorwegian Nynorsk
- СидахъхъOssetic
- ObriyeuPicard
- Pójdźka zwyczajnaPolish
- PójdźkaPolish
- pójdźka (zwyczajna)Polish
- mocho-galegoPortuguese
- CucuveaRomanian
- Домовый сычRussian
- Сыч домовойRussian
- Обыкновенный домовый сычRussian
- MinervaskuolfiNorthern Sami
- kuvik obyčajnýSlovak
- kuvik plačlivýSlovak
- čukSlovenian
- KukumavkaSerbian
- КукумавкаSerbian
- minervaugglaSwedish
- KukumavTurkish
- сич хатнійUkrainian
- SoètaVenetian
- KodipuloVeps
- 縱紋腹小鴞Chinese
- 纵纹腹小鸮Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the little owl
Other species in the same genus Athene.
Burrowing owl
Athene cunicularia
Spotted owlet
Athene brama
Forest owlet
Athene blewitti
White-browed owl
Athene superciliaris
Makira owl
Athene roseoaxillaris
Guadalcanal owl
Athene granti
CompareLittle owl vs Burrowing owlLittle owl vs Spotted owletLittle owl vs Forest owletLittle owl vs White-browed owl
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little owl?
The little owl is a bird in the owl subgroup, classified in the order Strigiformes and family Strigidae.
How heavy is a little owl?
An adult Little owl weighs 168.9 g, with reported values from 166 g to 175.5 g. Its wingspan is 56 cm.
What does the little owl eat?
The little owl is in the omnivore diet category, and its trophic level is carnivore.
How long does a little owl live?
The little owl has a lifespan of 11.08 years, with values up to 15.58 years reported.
How many eggs does the little owl lay?
The little owl lays 4 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 27.5 days.
Is the little owl endangered?
No. The little owl is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
Who named the little owl?
The little owl, Athene noctua, carries the authority (Scopoli, 1769).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little owl (Athene noctua). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-owl
“Little owl (Athene noctua).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-owl.
@misc{little_owl_2026,
title = {Little owl (Athene noctua)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-owl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}