Eurasian pygmy owl - Glaucidium passerinum

The pygmy owl is the smallest European owl, about the size of a starling (about 15-19 cm long).

 Its rather a bulky bird, with a small head. Short white eyebrows over the yellow eyes give the pygmy owl rather grizzly look. This owl can be found primarily in coniferous forests of the taiga and higher mountainous regions with coniferous and mixed forests. These areas generally have cooler temperatures and higher rainfall than nearby lowland regions. The owl usually lives along the edges of clearings surrounded by moist or swampy land, generally with a water source nearby. It nests in old woodpecker holes, often those of the great spotted woodpecker. In the Karkonosze and Jizera Mountains the it resides in pine forests near meadows, wetlands, young trees stands and clearing sites.
 

Its customs are peculiar.

Unlike our other owls, it is active mainly during the day like most of the northern species do (such as ural and snowy owl). The most active time is before dawn and at dusk. In addition, the pygmy owl is not a difficult bird to observe - a careful birdwatcher can admire it from a short distance, even standing directly under the tree on which the bird rests. The victims of this small predator are rodents and small birds, such as tits, robins and finches, but they can catch birds even larger than themselves - such as thrushes or woodpeckers.