Little Owl vs small tortoiseshell

Athene noctua compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Little Owl is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Little Owl	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Strigiformes (Owls)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Strigidae (True Owls)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Athene	Aglais
Species	Athene noctua	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Little Owl and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Little Owl

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Little Owl	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Little Owl

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (8 countries) and Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand).

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Little Owl

Little Owl (Athene noctua) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 8 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom