Earliest owl species

The earliest known species of owl is Berruornis orbisantiqui, which dates back to the mid/late Palaeocene epoch, approximately 57–60 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in deposits at Reims in northeastern France. It was about the same size as today's largest eagle owls, which are the largest owls of any kind alive today.

This ancient species is placed by most owl researchers within the taxonomic family Sophiornithidae (meaning "wisdom birds"), whose other members are also predominantly European, predatory and chicken-sized, although there is still much conjecture as to precisely which early owl species do belong in this family. Berruornis orbisantiqui itself was formally described and named in 1994, and is currently the only known member of its genus.