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Story: Introduced land birds

Little owl with dead thrush

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Little owl with dead thrush

Little owls were originally introduced to control other introduced birds. They do attack and eat some birds, like this young owl in its nest with a thrush for dinner, but their main diet is lizards, mice and invertebrates.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10044271

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How to cite this page

Christina Troup, Introduced land birds – Little owls, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/17148/little-owl-with-dead-thrush (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Christina Troup, published 1 March 2009.