The little owl (Athene noctua) is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain and was first introduced in 1842 by Thomas Powys and is now naturalised there. It was also successfully introduced to the South Island of New Zealand in the early 20th century.
This species is among the larger grouping of owls that is known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.