Owl

"Owls are magical creatures most often used for delivering post and parcels in the wizarding world. They are known for their speed and discretion and can find recipients without an address."

- Description.

Owls are birds of prey. They belong to the families Strigidae (typical owls) and Tytonidae (Barn Owls), and there are at least 200 species. They normally feed on small mammals, insects, fish, and other birds. They do not make nests, instead sheltering inside trees, ground burrows, caves, and barns, or using other birds' old nests. Owls do not live in flocks, but the term for a group of owls is a parliament. The study of owls is a branch of.

Normally, some owls are nocturnal, and owls generally keep to themselves, but in the wizarding world they serve many needed functions and have many sorts of personalities.

Postal workers
Owls are enlisted to aid communication between wizards. Letters, parcels, and Howlers are all delivered by owls. Soft edges on an owl's flight feathers reduce the noise of flight, coupled with their natural camouflage, making them ideal for delivering letters.

Owls must be trained to carry letters. Possibly only certain owls with attunement to magic can be trained for this purpose. Owls are able to find any wizard, wherever he may be, to deliver his mail.

Owls are used for commercial purposes, such as the Owl Post Office in Hogsmeade, and delivering newspapers and magazines such as the Daily Prophet and The Quibbler. The Ministry of Magic formerly used owls for interdepartmental memos, but switched to enchanted paper aeroplanes because owls made too much mess with their droppings and shed feathers.

Postal owls all have different jobs, but it is the duty of a for local deliveries only, as they are small and weak fliers.

Species
The smallest owl is the (Micrathene whitneyi), which lacks the feathers for silent flying. The (Glaucidium passerinum) is slightly larger than the Elf Owl, but with serrated feathers. The (Bubo bubo) has curvy feathers on its brow and ears; this is possibly the species of the "hawk-like owl" which was part of the Lovegood family. The (Nyctea scandiaca) is native to the Arctic.

List of species

 * (Tyto alba)
 * Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
 * Scops Owl
 * (Otus kennicotti)
 * Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio)
 * Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)
 * (Nyctea scandiaca)
 * Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
 * Tawny/Brown Owl (Strix aluco)
 * Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa)
 * Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi)
 * Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia)

Known owls

 * Hedwig - Snowy Owl, companion to Harry Potter
 * Errol - a very old Great Grey Owl owned by the Weasley family
 * Hermes - Western Screech Owl, belongs to Percy Weasley
 * Pigwidgeon also known as "Pig" - Scops Owl, owned by Ron Weasley
 * Hawk-like (possibly Eagle) owl - presumably companion to the Lovegoods
 * Draco Malfoy's Eagle Owl - companion to Draco Malfoy and/or his family.
 * Longbottom family's Barn Owl
 * Termeritus Shanks's Snowy Owl
 * Brodwin - belonged to the Prime Minister.
 * The numerous post owls from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
 * The numerous post owls from the Owl Post Office in Hogsmeade

Behind the scenes

 * During the production of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, an attempt was made to train bats to carry letters, but this was abandoned because bats urinate during flight.
 * It took trainers three months to train owls to carry letters for the films.
 * In April 2009, a falconer whose owls starred in the Harry Potter films admitted a string of animal cruelty offences.
 * In many legends, owls represent death. But in other legends, like those of Ancient Greece, owls are a symbol of wisdom. In India, owls are birds of ill omen.
 * In reality, the Brown Owl and the Tawny Owl are the same species (Strix aluco), but the Harry Potter books treat them as different types of owl.
 * There was a business which specialised in training owls.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
 * The Queen's Handbag
 * The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Pottermore
 * Harry Potter Trading Card Game
 * Harry Potter LEGO Sets