The genome sequence of the Little Owl, <i>Athene noctua</i> (Scopoli, 1769) (Strigiformes: Strigidae)

We present a genome assembly from an individual male <i>Athene noctua</i> (Little Owl; Chordata; Aves; Strigiformes; Strigidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 1 355.86 megabases and 1 302.38 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (91.82%) is scaffolded into 41 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 18.17 kilobases. This assembly was generated as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project, which produces reference genomes for eukaryotic species found in Britain and Ireland.