Little Owl, (Athene noctua). by Gert Hilbink

About "Little Owl, (Athene noctua)."

by Gert Hilbink

About the artwork

The little owl (Athene noctua) is a small stocky owl with yellow eyes and white brow stripes. The little owl is a small stocky owl about 21 to 27 cm long and with a wingspan of about 55 cm. The upper side is brownish gray, densely white spotted and striped. The underside is light gray with dark broad stripes. The little owl has an indistinct veil and a flattened, broad head with yellow eyes.In flight, the upper side shows white drop-shaped spots. The wings are short and round. The tail is short. The flight is undulating like that of a woodpecker. The little owl lives solitary. It sits - even during the day - a lot on roofs, telegraph poles, in a pollard willow or on a meadow pole and hops and bends when disturbed. Thanks to its small size, the bird is little noticed. It does make a lot of noise, especially from October to February, its call is often heard. This consists of a shrill and whistling 'gill-gill', 'cow gill' or 'quack'. Near the nest the call sounds like 'kiff, kiff' or 'kef, kef'. The sedentary bird calls a prolonged 'how.....k', which is easily imitated, to which the partner replies, especially at dusk.The little owl is the second smallest owl in the Benelux after the little owl. The male grows to about 180 grams, the female to 200 grams.
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