LITTLE OWL

Athene noctua

English: Little Owl.
German: Steinkauz.
French: Chevêche D’athéna.

Clasificación/Clasification

Order: Strigiformes.
Family: Strigidae.

Longitud/Length

21-23 cm

Envergadura/Wingspan

51-54 cm

Aves relacionadas/Similar species

The Little Owl can be confused with the Eurasian Scops Owl, although it is slightly smaller in size and has yellow eyes. Unlike the Little Owl, the Eurasian Scops Owl has ‘ear tufts’ on its head and has fine vermiculations on its chest and back.

Sexo/Sexing

Males and females have identical plumage, making it an unreliable character for sexing this species.

Edad/Ageing

It is possible to recognize 4 different ages:

Juvenile specimen: It has a brown crown without light mottling. The back is quite abundantly mottled. The body feathers are loose and not very consistent. The primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers are of the new generation. The tip of P10 is sharp, and the secondaries are pointed. 1st-year autumn/2nd-year spring: These individuals are very similar to adults but still have flight feathers and tail feathers from the juvenile generation, so they show significant wear. The crown feathers have a narrow brown border and a wide white center. There is a molt boundary between the outermost greater coverts (dark gray with a large white patch) and the unmolted inner juveniles (brown with a small cream patch). The P10 is pointed, as are the secondaries.

2nd-year autumn/3rd-year spring: This age is only recognizable in a few individuals that retain some juvenile secondaries.

Adult specimen: The crown feathers have a wide brown border and a narrow white center. The back shows little white mottling. The primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers are new. The tip of P10 is rounded, as are the tips of the secondaries. In the case of having two generations of secondaries, both are of the adult type.

Muda/Moult

The Little Owl undergoes a complete postnuptial molt, although they may sometimes retain some secondary feathers. This molt process typically finishes in the month of November. On the other hand, the post-juvenile molt is a partial molt that includes body feathers, small and medium coverts, and some outer greater coverts. Typically, this molt ends in the month of October. In the 2nd year, the postnuptial molt is complete, but sometimes some juvenile secondaries are still retained for one more year.

Configuración del plumaje/Plumage configuration

Primaries: 10 per wing.
Secundaries: 13-15 per wing.
Rectrices: 12.

Observaciones/Remarks

Link: http://blascozumeta.com/

La obtención de este material ha sido posible gracias al permiso necesario de la Junta de Andalucía.

AUTORIZACIÓN DE LA DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE MEDIO NATURAL, BIODIVERSIDAD Y ESPACIOS PROTEGIDOS DE LA CONSEJERÍA DE AGRICULTURA, GANADERÍA, PESCA Y DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE DE LA JUNTA DE ANDALUCÍA, PARA LA CESIÓN DE MUESTRAS BIOLÓGICAS DE ESPECIES DE FAUNA (ARTÍCULO 9 DE LA LEY 8/2003, DE 28 DE OCTUBRE, DE LA FLORA Y LA FAUNA SILVESTRES).

Medidas/Measures

Biometría/Biometrics

Adult male specimen:
Beak tip to pupil center: 28mm
Tarsus: 36mm

Adult specimen

1.- Right wing primaries. 2.- Details of the inner vane of P10, P9, P8, and P7. 3.- Details of the inner vane of P5, P4, P3, P2, and P1. 4.- Details of the tip of P10, P9, P8, and P7. 5.- Details of the tip of P3, P2, and P1. 6.- Details of P10. 7.- Right wing primaries. 8.- Details of the outer vane of the primaries. 9.- Details of the tip of the primaries. 10.- Details of the primary shaft. 11.- Details of the outer vane of the outer primaries. 12.- Details of P1. 13.- Secondaries (S1-S7). 14.- Secondaries (S8-S13). 15.- Details of the inner vane of S1, S2, and S3. 16.- Details of the tip of S6. 17.- Tertials details. 18.- Right wing secondaries and tertials. 19.- Details of the outer vane of the secondaries. 20.- Details of the tip of the secondaries. 21.- Details of the secondary shaft. 22.- Tertials details. 23.- Left wing primaries, secondaries, and tertials. 24.- Left wing primaries, secondaries, and tertials. 25.- Primaries, secondaries, and tertials. Primary coverts + greater coverts. 26.- Details of the primary coverts. 27.- Details of the tip of the primary coverts. 28.- Details of the greater coverts. 29.- Details of the greater coverts. 30.- Primaries, secondaries, and tertials. Primary coverts + greater coverts + median coverts. 31.- Details of the median coverts. 32.- Primaries, secondaries, tertials. Primary coverts and secondary coverts (G, M, and L). Alula. 33.- Details of the lesser coverts. 34.- Details of the secondary coverts. 35.- Primary coverts. 36.- Greater coverts. 37.- Alulas. 38.- Median secondary coverts. 39.- Rectrices. 40.- Details of the inner vane of the rectrices. 41.- Details of the inner vane of the rectrices. 42.- Details of the central rectrices. 43.- Rectrices. 44.- Details of the rectrices shaft. 45.- Details of the rectrices. 46.- Details of the tip of the rectrices. 47.- Rectrices + uppertail coverts. 48.- Details of the uppertail coverts. 49.- Uppertail coverts. 50.- Rectrices + undertail coverts. 51.- Details of the undertail coverts. 52.- Undertail coverts. 53.- Mounting of the right scapula. 54.- Feathers of the right scapula. 55.- Mounting of the right flank. 56.- Feathers of the right flank. 57.- Large primary underwing coverts. 58.- Large secondary underwing coverts. 59.- Mounting and feathers of the chest. 60.- Mounting and feathers of the right leg. 61.- Mounting and feathers of the crown. 62.- Mounting and feathers of the forehead. 63.- Mounting and feathers of the mantle. 64.- Feathers of the right auricle. 65.- Perioral bristles.

LITTLE OWL

Medidas/Measures

Adult specimen

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