Little Owl

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Little Owl in the UK

Little Owl is not native. Birds brought from the Continent were released in the late 1800s, became established and spread across England and into Wales. It sits in Category C of the British List as an established introduction. The UK estimate is about 3,600 pairs, and long-term monitoring shows a fall of almost 90% since the late 1960s. The breeding range has shrunk too, most of all in the west. A shortage of large insects and worms on intensively managed farmland is the leading explanation. It is a sedentary bird, and it remains very scarce in Scotland.

Where and when to see a Little Owl

Most are in East Anglia, the Midlands and northern England, with a thinner spread through the south and the Welsh borders. Check old parkland oaks, pollard willows, orchards, farm buildings, quarries and dry-stone walls beside short grass. Birds sit in the open on fence posts, barn roofs and low branches, most often early and late in the day and on sunny winter mornings. Pairs keep the same territory all year, so a regular perch is worth checking again. Listen at dusk from February to April, when they call most.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Farmland, parkland.
Diet: Insects, small mammals.
Field note: Often perches in daylight.

How to identify a Little Owl

About the length of a Starling but far bulkier: a small, flat-headed, short-tailed owl with long legs. The upperparts are grey-brown spotted with white, and the underparts are pale with broad brown streaks. Pale yellow eyes under white eyebrows give it a fierce, frowning look. It bobs up and down when alarmed. Flight is low, fast and deeply undulating, like a woodpecker, and usually ends with an upward swoop to a perch. It also runs across the ground after beetles and worms. There are no ear tufts.

Call and song

The main call is a sharp, yelping 'kiew', repeated and far-carrying, a little like a small dog. The male's spring song is a mellow, rising hoot, softer than a Tawny Owl's. It often calls in daylight. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Tawny Owl: Tawny Owl is much bigger with a large round head and black eyes, and is rarely seen in daylight.
• Scops Owl: Scops Owl, a vagrant here, is slimmer with ear tufts and bark-patterned plumage, and is strictly nocturnal.

Related guide UK raptors and owls.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Little Owl is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• RookCommon · Farmland
• Stock DoveCommon · Parkland
• Barn OwlUncommon · Rough grassland
• BramblingUncommon · Beech woods
• Common CuckooUncommon · Reedbeds
• Egyptian GooseUncommon · Parkland lakes

Little Owl: quick answers

Where can I see a Little Owl in the UK?

In lowland farmland and parkland in England, with the best numbers from East Anglia through the Midlands to Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is absent from Ireland and almost absent from Scotland. Ask locally, because pairs are faithful to the same trees and barns for years.

What does a Little Owl eat?

Mostly invertebrates: beetles, earthworms, moths and crane flies. It also takes voles, mice and small birds, mainly when feeding young. Much of its hunting is done on foot or from a low perch over short grass.

Is the Little Owl rare in the UK?

Not rare, but much scarcer than it was. Numbers have fallen steeply over the past 50 years and it has gone from many areas in the west. Because it is an introduced species, it is not given a UK conservation listing.

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