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THE OWLS OF HARRY POTTER

The owls described and widely used in the HP series are, not surprisingly, species native to Europe. This essay concentrates upon five species of owls that appear in the pages of the books.

OWLS: GENERAL

First, I’m going to get scientific and biological on you. The system of classifying living things is called taxonomy and was first created by Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swedish naturalist. Living things are classified in the following levels, from general to specific:

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

This scientific system uses those long Latin words to name different animals. Owls would be classified this way:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae (most owls) or Tytonidae (barn and bay owls)
Genus: Depends on bird
Species: Depends on bird

The genus and species names are the two words that usually are assigned to a creature, such as the barn owl, Tyto alba – “Tyto” is the genus, and “alba” is the species.

Additionally, Owls are in the category of birds called raptors, or birds of prey. This group also consists of hawks, eagle, falcons, vultures and condors.

THE HARRY POTTER SPECIES

Snowy Owl

Harry’s personal pet is Hedwig, a female snowy owl (scientific name: Nyctea scandiaca). The owl was first classified by Carrolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist who is credited for creating the two-name scientific classifications as shown above. The bird’s species name, “scandiaca,” means Scandinavia, the region of Europe where Sweden is located. Other names for it include Arctic Owl, Great White Owl, Ghost Owl, Ermine Owl, Ookpik, and White Terror of the North. The name “Ookpik,” Inuit (Eskimo) for white snowy owl,” is the word that gave Ook, the owl that plays Hedwig in the movies, his name.

The bird gets its name from its nearly white plumage, which has some black bars or speckles. Females and young owls have more black coloration, with some males almost totally white, except for black tail feather stripes. They are known to fly short distances, from perch to perch, and close to the ground. They often land on the ground or a low perch. These owls are known to go out in the day a lot and catch their food with a “sit and watch” method of waiting for their prey to come to them. Food includes rodents, other small mammals, and small to medium land and water birds.

The birds normally reproduce in the spring, with the female laying five to eight eggs. Both parents care for the babies, which are able to fly by 50 days old. Snowy owls are an average of 20 to 27 inches (51 to 68.5 centimeters), a wingspan of 54 to 65 inches (37-164 cm) and weigh 2.5 to 4.4 pounds (1,134-2,000 grams). Snowy owls can be found in cold (tundra) areas and open grasslands. They are in Europe, North America, Europe and Asia, primarily in the cooler northern regions.

Great Gray Owl

Errol, the elderly male owl that can barely deliver mail for the Weasley family, is described as a large, gray bird. He is probably the great gray owl, Strix nebulosa. The bird received its scientific name from Johann Reinhold Forster, who was on the second voyage around the world of Capt. John Cook in 1772. “Nebulosa” is the root for the world “nebulous,” which means foggy and unclear. Forster was referring to the owl’s gray, ghost-like appearance.

Other common names for this species also reflect its gray or phantom-like look – cinerous owl, spectral owl, sooty owl. Great grays are some of the world’s largest owls, with an average height of 24 to 33 inches (61-84 cm). Their main color is gray, with bars and spots of white and black. Distinctive characteristics include fluffy, thick feathers, large head with a flat face, long wings extending past its body, and plumage that mostly covers its feet.

Gray owls have a wingspan of up to 5 feet (152 cm) and an average weight of 28 to 51 ounces (790-1454 grams). The bird flies very short distances before landing, rarely glides, and tends to fly less than 20 feet from the ground.

Gray owls hunt mainly in the early morning and late afternoon, and their main diet is small rodents, such as mice or voles. Courtship begins in the midwinter, with the female later laying two to five eggs in a carefully tidied nest. Babies leave the nest after 3 to 4 weeks and are fledglings by 8 weeks. Great grays live mostly in the forested northlands. In North America they are found in Alaska and Canada down to northern Minnesota, and also in northern Europe and Asia.

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Considering the flaunting of wealth and display of arrogance, it isn’t surprising that the Malfoy family bird is the Eurasian eagle owl, Bubo bubo. This raptor is one of the largest of the European owl species and is an average of 22.8 to 28 inches tall. The feathers on the underside of the owl are brown-black and tawny, with a freckling effect on the head; stripes on the neck; and splotches on the back and shoulders. The owls has tall ear tufts and an upside-down triangular patch of white under its chin, ending in white on the upper chest.

Females range from 5 to nearly 10 pounds (2,280-4,200 grams), and males, 3.5 to 6.6 pounds (1,620-3,000 grams). They will capture prey either from a sitting position on the ground or swooping down from the air. The owl’s diet include many small mammals, some birds and occasionally reptiles, amphibians and other, smaller owl species.

The birds typically nest in rocky areas, such as in crevices or cave entrances, and sometimes in abandoned nests of other birds or between rocks on the ground. The female lays one to four eggs. Both parents care for the young.

The birds can be found in many habitats, from forests to deserts, but they prefer rocky areas. They are found in North Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Eurasian Pygmy Owl

After Ron Weasley lost Scabbers in The Prisoner of Azkaban, he received a present of a small gray owl from Sirius Black. Hermione Granger had named the bird Pigwidgeon, or “Pig” for short.

This noisy, “twittering” bird, as J.K. Rowling describes him, is the Eurasian pymgy owl. This bird, Glaucidium passerinum, is the smallest of the European species. Males are 6 to 6.7 inches (15.2-17 cm), and females are 6.8-7.5 inches (17.4-19 cm) The species does have a call with a high series of quickly paced sounds, chattering and trilling when it gets excited.

Pygmy owls hunt mostly at dusk and dawn. They were first described by Linnaeus, the inventor of the taxonomic system. Their upper bodies are dark red to brown, while the lower parts are streaked brown and off white. The tail is gray-brown with five narrow white bars. The face is dark, with two or three concentric (one within the other) rings around each yellow eye. There are no ear tufts as seen on other owls.

Rowling also was accurate in describing Pig as hyper and physically expressive. The Owl Pages state, “When excited, one will cock its tail, flicking it from side to side. When angry, the feathers of the body and head are raised, and when frightened, they are held tightly against the upright body.” The owl’s flight is low and appears to go in waves over long distances.

The bird hunts from a perch, watching for prey and then sailing down to capture it. The diet is mostly small birds, occasionally birds of their own size, such as the great spotted woodpecker, and small rodents, such as voles, mice and shrews. The birds pair up in fall and mate by spring. The female lays a clutch (group) of three to eight white eggs. Babies first leave the nest at 30 to 34 days, with them becoming independent at 4 to 6 weeks.

Pygmy owls prefer forests of conifers (evergreen trees) in the lowlands, or forests of montane conifers (evergreens native to mountain areas) or mixed tree types common to mountainous zones. They often nest in moist or swampy areas with a water supply and young spruces nearby. The species is found in central and northern Europe, and on into Siberia in eastern Russia.

Barn Owl

The barn owl, Tyto alba, has a pale body and is closely associated with people due to their tendency in Europe to nest in barns and church lofts and steeples. Its scientific name was coined by Giovanni Scopoli, an Italian naturalist. “Alba” is Latin for white. Other names are monkey face owl, hissing owl, church owl and white owl.

The owl’s upper body is pale gray, with numerous fine, dark lines and pale spots. Tan marks can be found on the wings and back. It has a distinctive, flat, heart-shaped face of pale white, with brown marks at its dark eyes. Both sexes have the same general coloring, but females and immature birds have more dense spotting. Its voice is most often a long, raspy screech, which inspired one of its common names, the screech owl.

They are somewhere between pygmy and snowy owls in size. Females are 13.5 to 15.5 inches (34 to 40 cm), with a 43-inch (110 cm) wingspan and weigh about 1.25 pounds (570 grams). Males are 12.5 to 15 inches (32-38 cm) in height, with a 42-inch (107 cm) wingspan and weigh about 15.5 ounces (470 grams).

This owl specializes in small mammals, especially rodents. Birds often will breed quickly in response to outbreaks in the mouse population. In Europe, they mostly eat voles, and some shrews, mice and rats. They like to fly down on their prey from low perches, relying on their silent wings and sharp hearing.

The birds will breed at any time of the year, and, as previously mentioned, will multiply very fast in rodent plagues. Three to six eggs are laid, with the birds becoming fledglings by 50 to 55 days. The owl is found in nearly all types of environments, but prefers woodlands. They are found on all continents except Antarctica (the South Pole).

Tawny Owl

The tawny, Strix aluco, is the most common owl species in the United Kingdom and is native to the country. Tawnies are one of the species featured at Eeylops Owl Emporium. The owl is nocturnal, and it is not uncommon to hear its high-pitched hoots late at night. The species is found all through Europe and North Africa, and east to Siberia (Russia) and Iran. In Asia they are found in northwest India, the Himalayas, southern China, Korea and Taiwan.

The bird's common name comes from the common color of its feathers -- a light golden brown. There are two color schemes to be found, a deep chestnut brown and grays instead of brown. The brown variety has streaks, spots or wavy lines or and has a reddish face. The gray strain has similar feather patterns. It has no ear tufts and is pale-colored in the eyebrow area.

This is a fairly large species. Males are 41 to 43.5 cm (16 to 17 inches) long and weight 410 550 g (14.5-19.4 ounces; Females are a little bigger -- 43.5 to 46 cm (17 to 18 inches) long and weigh 410 800 g (14.5 to 28.2 ounces).

The owls hunt almost exclusively at night and wait on a perch for potential prey. Once an animals is spotted, the bird glides down toward it, catches it and spreads its wings to cover it. The prey is usually killed instantly with talon and beak. Tawnies have been reported to beat their wings to scare birds into flight. They eat small rodents, birds, earthworms, insects, fishe, lizards, mollusks and crustaceans.

Tawny pairs mate for life and remain in their nesting area all year-round. They may nest in old buildings, a manmade nest box, old large birds' nests or a bare ledge. The female lays two to six round, white eggs. The babies become fledglings in 28 to 37 days and depend on their parents for food for up to three months after leaving the nest.

Sources: The Owl Pages; University of California-Berkeley Paleontology Museum; BiologyBase; Britannia.org’s Raptor Pages; Cornell University Biology Department.

Images: ArtToday.com; The Owl Pages