Little Owl Portrait #2

The Little Owl (Althene noctua) is a small owl found in temperate and warm parts of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and north Africa. It is colored... more

by Morris Finkelstein

Title

Little Owl Portrait #2

Artist

Morris Finkelstein

Medium

Photograph

Description

The Little Owl (Althene noctua) is a small owl found in temperate and warm parts of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and north Africa. It is colored mostly brown with white spots and bars on its upper parts, and white with bold brown streaks on its under parts. It has a compact body and a short tail, frowning expression, white eyebrows, and large yellow eyes. It measures about 8.7 inches in length and about 6.3 ounces in weight. Preferred habitats include open countryside, stony semi-deserts, and agricultural lands. It is usually perched on an elevation, and feeds on prey such as amphibians, small mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects. It is considered as partly diurnal, perching in the open during the day, often in full view of humans. The male Little Owl is territorial, protecting its territory from intruding males, and remaining in one territory for life.

This Little Owl resting in its burrow in a rocky area was photographed in Nahala, Israel on 3-28-2022. Shlomo Waldman, an Israeli birding guide and photographer, brought me to this location. I used a Nikon D850 camera body and a Nikon 600mm f/4.0E FL ED VR lens to capture this portrait photograph. Settings: 1/2500 sec, f/4.0, ISO 400. Nahala is a moshav community of about 700 people established in 1953 in south-central Israel, close to the city of Kiryat Gat.

I am honored that my photograph was featured in the Fine Art America groups:
Gentlemen Club Art Group, 5-3-2022
Animal Photographs, 5-4-2022
Predators Of The World, 7-11-2022
Your Very Best Photography, 7-21-2022
A Birding Group - Wings, 7-27-2022

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Uploaded

May 2nd, 2022