Standing at 20 centimetres in height, this is Britain's smallest owl. 'Not a native bird to Britain, imported from Spain or Italy (I think) during the 1800s. Preferred habitat is young plantations (I think) but those are becoming few and far between. We do very well for these birds 'round these parts: lots of open farmland with disused buildings and lots of quarries, and these birds have adapted into those habitats, including quarries on the coast. This Little Owl lives about a mile from my home in a disused building surrounded by farmland. I first saw this bird four years ago on my walk down to the local reservoir in the exact same spot/recess as in the picture, and recently I've thought it's about time I tried to get a picture. Little Owls have a life expectancy of around 16 years and so probably the same bird. They're a highly sedentary species and remain close to their birthplace for life. Edit: apparently the life expectancy is up to 16 years but the average is about 3 years.