|
|
|
Owls
Q: Why did you choose the
owl as the animal
messenger in your books?
A. Because owls are traditionally associated with
magic, and I like them.
-- J.K. Rowling (Sch2)
More Information:
About Owls
Owls in the wizarding world are regarded both as pets and as
the primary method of communication.
They are of course used to deliver letters and packages as part of owl
post service, but to wizards they mean more than just that. On many
occasions Harry thinks of Hedwig as a friend, especially when the two of
them are locked into number
four, Privet Drive together (OP3). Owning an owl is also
something of a status symbol and owls reflect their owners' wealth; the
Weasleys' owl, Errol, is old and frequently collapses at
the ends of journeys (PA1)
while the Malfoys have an
enormous, handsome eagle owl (PS8)
that not even the post office is mentioned as having (PA14).
Wizarding owls have some magical powers (JKR)
and are generally very intelligent. It is clear they understand
instructions in English, and they even seem to be able to read -
generally wizards have only to write the name of the recipient on an
envelope for owls to understand where to take it, and when Harry writes his first letter to
Snuffles he explains to Hedwig that he means
Sirius (OP14). They also know who
their deliveries are to and where they'll be, like the school owl that
waits for Harry in his dormitory (GF18)
and the owl that delivers a Daily
Prophet and knows to ruffle through Hagrid's coat pockets for payment (PS5). They're not quite
perfect,
though, evidenced when one owl flies into a closed window despite two
others figuring it out and coming down the chimney instead (OP2).
Owls' behaviors are on a basic level very similar to that of
Muggle owls, sleeping during the day (GF15) and hunting at
daybreak
(GF29) for mice, voles (GF15), and frogs (OP3) (though they
definitely won't say no to an occasional owl treat (GF5) ). Their
emotions, however, can be very human. At varying times we've seen owls
work hard to look dignified and important (PA1), fly around in
celebration of Voldemort's
downfall (PS1), carry a
fellow owl when he's
passed out (PA1), and fly
urgent messages at top speed (OP2).
We also
see Hedwig get upset with Harry for a variety of reasons, and
stay mad
for quite some time (CS7, GF18) - though she's also
known to be
affectionate (PS8).
For more about owl post and how it works, click here. Information about
real-world owls can be found at  Owls of the World.
Individual owls:
-
Hedwig
- Harry's snowy owl, amber eyes, unusually intelligent
-
Errol -
Weasley family's owl, old and decrepit
-
Hermes -
Percy's screech owl
-
Pigwidgeon
- Ron's Scops owl (GF2, JKR) tiny,
over-exuberant
-
school owls - various owls which can be used by students
to send mail
-
Malfoys' eagle owl
Types of owls mentioned in the books
-
barn
-
brown
-
eagle
-
Scops
-
screech
-
snowy
-
tawny
|
W H A T ' S N E W
|
E S S A Y S
|
F O R U M |
S T O R E
|
F A Q
|
H E L P |
T E X T |
S E A R C H
