Owl

Owls are birds of prey. There are at least 200 species of owls. They normally feed on small animals, insects, fish, and other birds. Owls 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 ornithology. Fossil records show that owls arose early after the extinction of the dinosaurs. For more information see Owl.

Normally, some owls are nocturnal, and owls 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. Possibly they are trained by wizards who can talk to animals.

Owls are used for commercial purposes, such as the Owl Post Office, 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 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.

Breeds
The smallest owl is the which lacks the feathers for silent flying. The is slightly larger than the Elf Owl but with serrated feathers. The has curvy feathers on its brow and ears: this is possibly the breed of the "hawk-like owl" which was part of the Lovegood family. The is native to the Arctic.

List of breeds

 * Eagle owl
 * Scops owl
 * Tawny Owl or Brown Owl
 * Scops owl
 * Tawny Owl or Brown Owl
 * Tawny Owl or Brown Owl
 * Tawny Owl or Brown Owl

Known owls

 * Hedwig - companion to Harry Potter
 * Errol - Weasley family
 * Hermes - belongs to Percy Weasley
 * Pigwidgeon also known as "Pig" - Ron Weasley
 * Hawk-like owl - presumably companion to the Lovegoods
 * James Potter's owl
 * Malfoy's Eagle Owl - companion to Draco Malfoy and/or his family.
 * Longbottom family's Barn Owl
 * Termeritus Shanks's owl
 * 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.
 * In reality the brown owl and the tawny owl are the same (species Strix aluco), but the Harry Potter stories treat them as distinct types of owl.

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 Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * The Queen's Handbag
 * The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
 * Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4

Notes and references
Eule Hiboux