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13

Little Owl (Athene noctua) Size: 23-27.5 cm; wing span 50-57 cm Weight: 180 g (average)

Oman: Family Group 13 Family Group 13 Table Asian Koel Pallid Scops Owl Little Owl European Nightjar Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Little Owls are small owls. They have the typical mid-grey, slightly reflective and highly cryptic plumage of many owls, with bold dark streaks on the head and an even bolder chevron pattern on both front and back (where the front is lighter in overall appearance than the back). The near-white supercilia, eye patches and "moustache" inside the facial mask give them a characteristic look. The darkness of their plumage can vary considerably. While nominate race "noctua" has a dark-grey pattern on light-grey, race "lilith" found in Arabia is on average much paler, with less colour contrast in its patterns. The large eyes have yellow irises. The short, hooked bill is grey. The feet and legs are covered with whitish feathers.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Owl at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Little Owl is available HERE . There are several races of Little Owls, which are a sedentary species. They breed throughout their range, which extends from north-western Africa (including inland areas to the southern tip of Libya) and parts of Egypt throughout southern, central and eastern Europe (including England, but excluding Scotland, Ireland and all of Scandinavia) eastwards. There is also a population in eastern Africa, in Eritrea, Djibouti and northern Ethiopia. They are also found from the Baltic states to eastern China and from Asia Minor and the Middle East to the northern fringe of the Himalayas and onwards to the central Chinese coastline. In Arabia Little Owls are permanent residents southward of a line from the Sinai peninsula to Kuwait, into central inland Saudi Arabia, basically all of Yemen and Oman, up to the western base of Musandam, in the UAE. They are usually found in open landscapes, such as steppes, semi-desert, edges of woodlands or agricultural land, but usally with at least some scattered vegetation. They also enter urban areas such as parks, orchards or gardens, but they also use buildings to their advantage. In more open areas, they can often be found in quarries, rocky outcrops or in ruins. We have seen one bird in a built-up area with little or no night life, i.e. the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We have seen a small grey owl (which was different from a Pallid Scops Owl, with a much more scalloped overall jizz) sitting on top of a lamp post on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, in January 2010. The light of the street lamp made it hard to identify, but by size and colour pattern we tentatively identify it as a Little Owl, race "lilith". No photo available yet.

Photos

We have not been able to take a photo in Oman, but obtained photos of Little Owls in Europe.

Food, Diet

Like other members of the owl family, Little Owls are carnivores. They prey on large insects and other small animals.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

litowl_jp_20200204.m4a	vidalii (Portugal)	Contact calls + ?	© JP
litowl_jp_20190704.m4a	vidalii (Portugal)	Alarm calls	© JP
litowl_jp_20201026.m4a	vidalii (Portugal)	? (+ 2nd unid caller)	© JP

More Little Owl sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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