Little Owl
Little Owls are the smallest of the British Owls, and we consider them the
"terriers" of the Owls. They love open farmland, with hedges and fields. They
do not like nest boxes, but there is one design that some of them have taken
to. They prefer a hole at the back of a barn, or deep inside a rotting tree,
usually entering through a gap no more than a few centimetres wide.
They eat small mammals, birds, lots of beetles, but most of their diet
consists of earthworms. They will also eat vegetable matter, the one
pictured here (Tosh) positively loved green beans.
They will have broods of six or so young, and frequently raise all of them.
Their calls are like small dogs yapping, especially when upset by the sight
of a Buzzard or similar large threatening bird, and they also do a long one
note call when calling for a mate, sounds very eerie.