What Does An Owl With Attitude Have?

A scowl.

This little owl has chosen its residence well. It lives in the cluster of chimneys above the gatehouse of a local manor house that was designed by Alfred Waterhouse. He was also was responsible for The Natural History Museum. Hope koko finds its perch interesting. :) 

Little owls have 'eyebrows' that make them look as if they are scowling. I shot this at the tail end of the golden hour, there's a tiny ray of sunshine on top of its head. In Greek mythology the little owl was the messenger of the goddess Athene. She was originally goddess of the night but later of wisdom.

I hadn't realised until recently that the little owl is an introduced species. I have read that they were brought into the country to control bullfinches. My maternal grandparents were fruit growers and I've heard how flocks of  bullfinches can strip an orchard of buds. Little owls eat mainly insects and will kill and store birds and mammals until they decompose providing a larder of bugs.

The raw eggs of the little owl were thought to cure alcoholism, epilepsy and madness.

Thank you to my mate who told me where to find this lovely little bird. :)