The little owl (Athene noctua) is the smallest owl to be found in Britain - though not in Europe. The scops owl and the pygmy owl are considerably smaller. But the smallest owl in the world is the elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) which is found in the southern US. The little owl was introduced to Britain by two landowners: Col. E.G.B.Meade-Waldo at Stonewall Park, near Edenbridge in Kent (in 1874), and the 4th Lord Lilford at Lilford Hall, Oundle in Northamptonshire from 1889. The little owl usually builds a nest in the hole of a tree. Although mainly nocturnal, the little owl can be spotted in the day hunting invertebrates (especially worms), small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and small birds.
