---
title: "Steenuil"
description: "Athene noctua — Vogels. The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/little-owl
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Steenuil

> Athene noctua — Vogels. The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa.

- Scientific name: *Athene noctua*
- Category: `birds` (Vogels)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Weiden en velden), `farm` (Boerderij)
- iNaturalist observations: 20600
- Wikidata: [Q129958](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q129958)
- iNaturalist taxon: [19998](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19998)

## Names

- en: Little Owl
- de: Steinkauz
- es: Mochuelo europeo
- fr: Chevêche d'Athéna
- nl: Steenuil
- pt: Mocho-galego
- pl: Pójdźka zwyczajna

## Countries with the most observations

ES (2891), IT (2502), FR (1500), PT (1405), RU (1369), GB (1061), UA (839), GR (699), RO (558), DZ (469), CN (415), TR (412)

## Summary

The little owl (Athene noctua), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at the end of the 19th century and into the South Island of New Zealand in the early 20th century.
This owl is a member of the typical or true owl family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl, the other grouping being the barn owls, Tytonidae. It is a small (approx. 22 cm long), cryptically coloured, mainly nocturnal species and is found in a range of habitats including farmland…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_owl

## Photo

![Steenuil](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/little-owl/medium.jpg)

Photo: Murielle Desrois · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/248723836

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/little-owl?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).