# Little owl (*Athene noctua*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-owl  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 166 g – 175.5 g |
| Length | 22 cm |
| Wingspan | 56 cm |
| Lifespan | 11.1 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 15.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 27.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 4.2 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Strigiformes
- family: Strigidae
- genus: Athene
- species: *Athene noctua* (Scopoli, 1769)

Synonyms: *Athene noctus*, *Carine noctua*, *Noctua passerina*, *Strix noctua*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Little owl (Athene noctua). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-owl