View source for Little owl

===Subspecies===
The species is found in temperate to desert areas over much of Eurasia south to northern and eastern Africa and the Middle East, with populations introduced to Great Britain<ref>https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/l/littleowl/</ref> and New Zealand<ref>http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/little-owl</ref> by man in an effort to control the rodent population.  Thirteen subspecies are recognized.  
*''Athene noctua bactriana''; Azerbaijan to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan (Lake Balkhash area)
*''Athene noctua glaux''; northern Africa and coastal Israel (north to Haifa)
*''Athene noctua impasta''; west-central China (Kokonor and western Gansu)
*''Athene noctua indigena''; eastern Europe (Balkan Mountains) to Turkey, southern Russia, Transcaucasia and southwestern Siberia
*''Athene noctua lilith''; Cyprus; Middle East from southeastern Turkey to southern Sinai Peninsula
*''Athene noctua ludlowi''; south-central China and Tibet to northern Himalaya Mountains
*''Athene noctua noctua''; Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, northwestern Balkans, southeastern Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania
*''Athene noctua orientalis''; Extreme northwest China and adjacent Siberia
*''Athene noctua plumipes''; northeastern China, Mongolia and far-eastern Russia (Primorsky Krai)
*''Athene noctua saharae''; Morocco to Tunisia south of Atlas Mountains, Libya coast, western Egypt, Arabian Peninsula
*''Athene noctua somaliensis''; eastern Ethiopia and Somalia
*''Athene noctua spilogastra''; Red Sea coast of eastern Sudan and northern Ethiopia
*''Athene noctua vidalii''; Europe: northwestern Russia, Poland, and southern Baltic to Spain and Balearic Islands,