The Little Owl is quite a common bird in the fields and farmland where it can often be seen searching for worms, beetles and other food.  Little Owls were an introduction species into Britain where they were introduced during the 19th century and they have spread across a very wide range.  They are 21 to 23 cm in length but despite their size they can be quite hard to see as they often sit motionless and perfectly camouflaged in a tree and despite there piercing bright yellow eyes they can be incredibly hard to see.  Population estimates vary and it is thought that we have between 10,000,000 and 15,000,000 birds.  They are also found across a very wide geographic area including Europe, Northern Africa and then east as far as Vietnam and China.  They can be found at sea level up to quite high altitudes over 3000 m.   As well as Britain, they have been introduced into New Zealand.

There is a good population of Little Owls in Leicestershire, but the pictures below are taken from a wide variety of locations including Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, as well as Leicestershire.  Over the years I have photographed quite a few Little Owls, but you can never get tired of watching Little Owls and always welcome more images, I need to revisit some of the sites and sit patiently getting more images of this species.