Owls do not have spherical eyes, they have tube eyes (providing better depth perception and allowing them to see prey from great distances. Their close vision is not as clear.)

The Little Owl is one of the smallest owls. It was introduced to Britain from Europe in the 1880s to help control garden pests and can be found living in tree hollows around the Bath area.

A Little Owl with an olive branch appeared on a Greek silver tetradrachm coin from 500 BC and a 5th Century BC bronze statue of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, shows her holding a Little Owl.

There are around 200 species of owl.
The largest is Blakiston’s fish owl (Japan, China, Siberia)

“It was with sheer delight that I rounded a corner on my first ever visit to … where they were filming Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and saw a line of big, grey, fluffy, bewildered-looking owls blinking back at me.” JK Rowling

The Little Owl has a large global range and is found in 84 countries (much of Europe, Asia east to Korea, North Africa, and the Middle East).

A group of owls is called a parliament.
(Of course, most owls are solitary!)

In 2008 the King Bladud’s Pigs auction raised over £200,000 for charity and 16,000 pig fans came to say their ‘final farewells’.

Little Owls have decreased by 70% over the last 20 years. The UK Little Owl Project is working to protect them and is based in Bath.

Little Owls love sunbathing! You can spot them basking in sunshine on their favourite perches during the winter months in parks and rural villages. On a sunny day, look out for Little Owls on barn roofs, poles and fence posts.

Many owls have asymmetrical ears that vary in size and are at different heights on their heads. This allows them to better pinpoint where their prey is.

You can find Little Owls in a range of habitats including quarries, villages, orchards, parkland, liveries and on lowland farmland. They prefer semi-open habitat and avoid woodland. Read Emily’s Little Owl Spotter’s Guide here.