[1] The type species was designated as the little owl (Athene noctua) by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841.

A number of mainly island representatives of this genus are only known from fossil or subfossil remains: The Cretan owl was a flightless or near-flightless form that was more than 50 cm (almost 2 ft) tall.

Late Miocene (about 11 mya) fossil remains from Rudabánya (NE Hungary) have been tentatively assigned to this genus.

[7] Considering the known fossil range of Athene and the misassignments of many Miocene strigids from Europe, it may be a basal member of the present genus or not belong here at all.

The supposed species "Athene" murivora was the name given to subfossil bones of male Rodrigues scops owls.