eagle owl

/ˈiːɡəl ˈɑʊl/

Any of various Old World large owls of the genus Bubo, especially the Eurasian eagle owl, Bubo bubo, that have prominent ear tufts.


long-eared owl

/ˌlɒŋɪədˈaʊl/

Asio otus, a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. Long eared owls are partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of their range.


little owl

Athene noctua
Athene noctua#Translingual

A species of small European owl, Athene noctua.


owl

From Middle English oule, owle, from Old English ūle, from Proto-West Germanic *uwwilā, from Proto-Germanic *uwwalǭ (compare West Frisian ûle, Dutch uil, Danish and Norwegian ugle, German Eule), diminutive of *uwwǭ (“eagle-owl”) (compare German Uhu), of imitative origin or a variant of *ūfaz, *ūfǭ (compare Old English ūf or hūf, Swedish uv (“horned owl”), Bavarian Auf), from Proto-Indo-European *up- (compare Latvian ũpis (“eagle-owl”), Czech úpět (“to wail, howl”), Avestan 𐬎𐬟𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬨𐬌 (ufiieimi, “to call out”). A Germanic variant *uwwilǭ was the source of Old High German ūwila (German Eule).

cog

Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.


tawny owl

Any of species Strix aluco of strigid owls, of Europe, western Asia, and the Middle East.


barn owl

/ˈbɑɹn ˌaʊəl/

An owl of the species Tyto alba, often having a white face and commonly found in barns and other farm buildings.


parliament

en-noun

parliament (countable and uncountable, plural parliaments)

From Middle English parlement, from Anglo-Norman parliament, parlement, parliment and Old French parlement (“discussion, meeting, negotiation; assembly, council”), from parler (“to speak”) + -ment (“-ment”, suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually indicating an action or state resulting from them) (from Latin -mentum). Compare Medieval Latin parlamentum, parliamentum (“discussion, meeting; council or court summoned by the monarch”), Italian parlamento and Sicilian parramentu.

cog

Palace of Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom

Following the general election, Jane Doe took her oath of office as a member of the nation's fifth parliament.

The acts made in the first Parliament of our most high and dread soveraigne Charles, by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. […]

1633, John Hay, editor, The Acts Made in the First Parliament of our Most High and Dread Soveraigne Charles, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.: Holden by Himselfe, Present in Person, with His Three Estates, at Edinburgh, upon the Twentie Eight Day of Iune, Anno Domini 1633, Edinburgh: Printed by Robert Young, printer to the Kings most excellent Maiestie, →OCLC, title page:

[T]he army under Lambert again thrust the Rump Parliament out of doors, and commenced a new military government, by means of a committee of officers, called the Council of Safety.

1834, Walter Scott, Tales of a Grandfather (Waverley Tales; 49), Parker's edition, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Samuel H[ale] Parker, →OCLC, page 223:

A particular assembly of the members of such a legislature, as convened for a specific purpose or period of time (commonly designated with an ordinal number – for example, first parliament or 12th parliament – or a descriptive adjective – for example, Long Parliament, Short Parliament and Rump Parliament).


laughing owl

An owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) of New Zealand, now probably extinct, named for its cry.


owlet

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-owlet.wav

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Noticeable features found in many of the owlets are two markings that often appear on the upper forewings.

2023, John Himmelman, Discovering Moths, page 39:


gnome

From French gnome (“gnome”), from New Latin gnomus, used by Paracelsus as a synonym for pygmaeus (“pygmy”).

The mountain pygmy owl, Glaucidium gnoma, a small owl of the western United States.


hooter

Suddenly, far down and beyond the toun there came a screech as the morning grew, a screech like an hungered beast in pain. The hooters were blowing in the Segget Mills.

1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe, page 34:

When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform.

1945 May and June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 152:

A chime whistle, presented to the L.M.S.R. by American model railway enthusiasts in 1939, is installed now as a works hooter at Crewe Works, as its height precludes its use on a British locomotive.

1946 September and October, “Notes and News: Locomotive Whistle Gift”, in Railway Magazine, page 322:

(British) A siren or steam whistle, especially one in a factory and used to indicate the beginning or the end of a working day or shift.


monkey-faced owl

en-noun

monkey-faced owl (plural monkey-faced owls)


owlish

en-adj

owlish (comparative more owlish, superlative most owlish)

more owlish (comparative)
most owlish (superlative)

1914, Theodore Dreiser, The Titan, Chapter 26, http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/fr100299.txt
"You're very right," he said, with owlish smugness, adjusting a waistcoat button that had come loose, and smoothing his cuffs.

He feebly wanted to get out of this, away from clucking nurses and Dr. Crittenham's owlish peering and the horrible scrambled eggs and cold toast.

1951, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 2, in World So Wide:

This owl imitated Trumpkin’s voice rather well, and there were sounds of owlish laughter all round.

1953, C. S. Lewis, chapter 4, in The Silver Chair, Collins, published 1998:


night owl

From night + owl, from the fact that the bird is active at night.

The night-owl,—a mug-shaped instrument, with an orifice in its side, through which a whistle is inserted,—when used, is partly filled with water, to give the tremulous owl-hoot sound.

1874 May, James Judson Lord, “Haydn’s Children’s Symphony [actually the Toy Symphony, possibly by Leopold Mozart or Edmund Angerer]”, in [Mary Mapes Dodge], editor, St. Nicholas, volume I, number 7, New York, N.Y.: Scribner & Co., →OCLC, page 429, column 2:

At the right was the piano, with a young lady seated, ready to play. Just before the curtain, and arranged in a semicircle, sat the juvenile orchestra,—Kitty with a tin trumpet; Jane with her night-owl filled with water and ready to pipe up; Julia with another bird, but having a different note; John with his drum, and Edward with his trumpet.

1889, Charles Barnard, chapter VI, in The Tone Masters: A Musical Series for Young People, Boston, Mass.: New England Conservatory of Music, →OCLC, book I (Mozart and Mendelssohn), pages 189–190:

(music) A musical instrument which imitates an owl's hoot, consisting of a receptacle partly filled with water and a mouthpiece that is blown into.


snowy owl

Bubo scandiacus
Bubo scandiacus#Translingual

A large, white, nomadic Arctic owl (Bubo scandiacus).


owling

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-owling.wav


tuwhit tuwhoo

Thy tuwhits are lull'd I wot, / Thy tuwhoos of yesternight,[…]

[1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Second Song. To the Same [the Owl].”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 21:


great horned owl

en-noun

great horned owl (plural great horned owls)

Bubo virginianus
Bubo virginianus#Translingual

Any of species Bubo virginianus of large owls, resident in North America, having tufts on its ears.


scops owl

From Latin scops, from Ancient Greek σκώψ (skṓps, “a type of small owl”), from σκοπός (skopós, “watcher”), from σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “I look at”).

der

A small European migratory owl, Otus scops, that winters in sub-Saharran Africa.


ookpik

(Canada) A handicraft stuffed toy owl, often made from wolf fur, sealskin, or similar materials.


screech owl

From the fact that these species are owls which emit screeching calls.

The screech owls winter in the north and are distinctly farsighted in preparing for winter.

1911, Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study, 24th edition, published 1939, page 102:

And I listened for a voice;— / But my heart was all I heard; / Not a screech-owl, not a loon, / Not a tree-toad said a word.

1921, Edna St. Vincent Millay, “The Blue-Flag in the Bog”, in Second April:

†Virgin Islands screech owl

Puerto Rican screech owl (Megascops nudipes)

(UK) A common barn owl, of species Tyto alba, found almost worldwide.

Turdus viscivorus
Turdus viscivorus#Translingual


howlet

From Middle English howlat, howlott etc, either borrowed from French hulotte or formed from Middle English howle (form of oule) + -et. Compare modern owlet.

Will the night send a howlet or a bat? / I asked: when something on the dismal flat / Came to arrest my thoughts and change their train.

1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XVIII:


horned owl

An owl of the genus Bubo native to the Americas, among the largest types of owl, having two horn-like tufts of feathers on its head.


morepork

/ˈmɔɹˌpɔ(ə)ɹk/

The word is imitative of the bird's call.

onom

imitative

[T]he eye of the Morepork or Greater Night Jarr,^([sic]) which I lately had the opportunity of examining, is wonderfully adapted for enabling it to see the insects in the dark, on which it feeds.

1843, James Backhouse, chapter XVIII, in A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies, London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co. […]; York, Yorkshire: John L. Linney, […], →OCLC, page 213:

Although the living figure of our owl may be unknown to most persons, from the nature of its habits, yet few, perhaps very few, of the older settlers are unacquainted with the human-like cry of the More-pork.

1871 May, T[homas] H[enry] Potts, “Art. XI.—On the Birds of New Zealand. … (Part II.)”, in James Hector, editor, Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, 1870, volume III, Wellington: James Hughes, printer, […]; London: Trübner 7 Co., […], →OCLC, page 61:

[I]t was better fun wandering about with the old man at night than moping in my hut, listening to the morepoke.

1876, Richard Rowe, “The Bunyip”, in A Child’s Corner Book: Stories for Boys and Girls, London, Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo. […], →OCLC, page 182:

When Heke and Kawiti were making an attack on the Europeans in the Bay of Islands, the native parties, in taking up their positions before daybreak, communicated their movements to one another by imitating the cry of the morepork, which the sentries were accustomed to hear, and of which they therefore took no notice.

1909, F[rederick] W[ollaston] Hutton, James Drummond, “[Aves.] The Morepork.—Kuru or Koukou. Ninox novae-zealandiae.”, in The Animals of New Zealand: An Account of the Dominion’s Air-breathing Vertebrates, 3rd revised and enlarged edition, Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin: Whitcombe and Tombs, →OCLC, page 170:

Moreporks and laughing owls were both recorded from the Punakaiki karst in small numbers, although the presence of laughing owls was inferred only from prey remains. [...] Because moreporks were extremely rare in fossil deposits, Millener (1991) suggested that they were recent colonists. In Punakaiki, one of the morepork records is of bones beneath an entrance tomo.

1993 September, T[revor] H[enry] Worthy, R. N. Holdaway, “Quaternary Fossil Faunas from Caves in the Punakaiki Area, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand”, in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, volume 23, number 3, Wellington: SIR Publishing, Royal Society of New Zealand, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 216:

I remember that at night there was usually a morepork in the tree, whose eerie calls scared me as I lay still in bed, with firmly closed eyes, waiting for a possible attack.

2000, L. C. Woods, “Growing Up”, in Against the Tide: An Autobiographical Account of a Professional Outsider, Bristol, Philadelpha, Pa.: Institute of Physics Publishing, →ISBN, page 1:

[T]wo New Zealand Moreporks (Ninox novaeseelandiae) were introduced to Norfolk Island in 1987, where only one individual of the closely related Norfolk Island Boobook (Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata) survived [...]. Nest boxes were erected across the island to supplement the dearth of natural hollows. By early 1995, the population had risen to 11 birds [...].

2002, Philip Gibbons, David Lindenmayer, “The Role of Nest Boxes in Research and Management”, in Tree Hollows and Wildlife Conservation in Australia, Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, published 2003, →ISBN, page 146:

I heard the harsh rasping of a weta, a mega-cricket. Then a pair of Morepork owls began a duet. Few birds are as aptly named as the Morepork. From dusk to sun-up and from forest to suburban garden, this medium-sized owl emphatically calls for "more pork."

2008, David Stirling, “Belly Up in the Kauri Trees”, in Birds, Beasts and a Bike under the Southern Cross, Victoria, B.C.: Agio Publishing House, →ISBN, page 14:

Moreporks’ inquisitive, searching eyes, / scan the hiding places, search the ground, / it stares ’round … from flattened rounded face.

2012, Robert Taylor, “Predators”, in Driftwood: Another Voice, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 47:

We were a family of odd bods and every summer we spent by the river. At night the morepokes called again and again.

2016, Brigid Lowry, “My Inky Life: Thoughts about Writing Memoir”, in Still Life with Teapot: On Zen, Writing and Creativity, North Fremantle, W.A.: Fremantle Press, →ISBN:

(chiefly New Zealand) The Tasmanian spotted owl (Ninox novaeseelandiae), a small brown owl indigenous to New Zealand and Tasmania.


owlery

Or perhaps there is now no heroic wisdom left in England; England, once the land of heroes, is itself sunk now to a dim owlery, and habitation of doleful creatures, intent only on money-making and other forms of catching mice, for whom the proper gospel is the gospel of M‘Croudy, and all nobler impulses and insights are forbidden henceforth?

1850 April 1, Thomas Carlyle, “No. III. Downing Street.”, in Latter-Day Pamphlets, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 93:


great grey owl

Strix nebulosa
Strix nebulosa#Translingual


Tengmalm's owl

Named after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm.

Aegolius funereus
Aegolius funereus#Translingual

A species of owl, Aegolius funereus or Nyctala tengmalmi


boobook

Any of various owls of Asia and Australasia of the genus Ninox.


screech-owl

It is said that whenever a member of the house of the Arundels of Wardour lies on his death-bed, a pair of large screech-owls fly round the battlements each night till his decease.

1888 July 14, “Bird Legends”, in Charles Dickens [Jr.], editor, All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal., volume XLIII, number 1024, London: […], page 40, column 2:


northern hawk owl

en-noun

northern hawk owl (plural northern hawk owls)

A medium-sized owl native to boreal forests of North America and Eurasia; Surnia ulula.


Billy Wix

(UK, dialect, East Anglia) The barn owl, Tyto alba.


strich

Compare Latin strix, strigs (“a screech owl”).

The lether-winged Bat, dayes enimy, / The ruefull Strich, still waiting on the bere, / The Whistler shrill, that who so heares, doth dy […]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:


mopoke

A mopoke cried in the scrub to the north.

1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 401:


short-eared owl

short-eared owl (plural short-eared owls)

Asio flammeus
Asio flammeus#Translingual


wekau

(zoology) An extinct small New Zealand owl with short wings and long legs that lived chiefly on the ground (†Sceloglaux albifacies).


ullet

Compare Old French hullote, English howlet.

(archaic, UK) The tawny owl, Strix aluco.


ruru

Borrowed from Maori ruru. First use in English appears c. 1842.


fish owl

Any of group of four species of Asian owls within the genus Bubo resembling the eagle owl.


barred owl

Two barred owls, lugubrious and beautiful, call across a great distance.

2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Vintage (2019), page 546:

A large American owl (Strix varia) with dark brown transverse bars on the breast.


fishing owl

Any member of a group of three species of African owls within the genus Bubo resembling the eagle owl.


Ural owl

A Eurasian species of owl, Strix uralensis

tó wónaanídę́ę́ʼ tsinyiʼ néʼéshjaaʼ łigaaígíí


sawwhet

A small North American owl (Aegolius acadicus) with feathered toes and no ear tufts.


strigid

(zoology) Any member of the Strigidae (i.e. owls).


tytonid

(zoology) Any member of the Tytonidae, the barn owls.


Acadian owl

A very small North American owl, a northern back-up owl (Aegolius acadicus).


owlful

en-adj

owlful (comparative more owlful, superlative most owlful)

more owlful (comparative)
most owlful (superlative)

Impenetrable growth surrounds him. // Owlful. Batful. // Great moths of prey.

1973, Thomas Kinsella, “The Clearing”, in Daniel Halpern, editor, Antæus, page 105:

Mrs Adcock will invariably force you to take two, leaving you to stagger into the owlful night.

1984, Punch, volume CCLXXXVI, number ii, page 67:

What // is that on the unmooned owlful slope, // the silver movement five yards west of your glance?

2001, J. Allyn Rosser, Misery Prefigured, part three, “Rods and R.”, pages 40–41, lines 34–36


strigiform

There's still something boyish about Muldoon, and still something birdlike; strigiform.

2001 May 12, Robert Potts, “The poet at play”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(zoology) Belonging to the order Strigiformes of owls.


burrowing owl

, burrow owl, howdy-ow, howdy owl

Athene cunicularia
Athene cunicularia#Translingual

A small owl of the Americas (Athene cunicularia or Speotyto cunicularia), which lives in holes, often dug by prairie dogs.


elf owl

Micrathene whitneyi, a small owl of North America.


Pel's fishing owl

en-noun

Pel's fishing owl (plural Pel's fishing owls)

Scotopelia peli, a large owl that feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers.


barnie

The 'Barnies' as they were more commonly known, were, in the main, deserving pensioners

1974, Conor Brady, Guardians of the peace - Page 5:

former Barnies, like me, knew very well that serious students — if they would work their butts off — could probably learn more of what the commercial theatre was really about in a summer at the Barn than they could in all four years

2002, Man in the Spangled Pants: Jack Ragotzy and the First Fifty Years:

'What are the Barnies?' asked George, puzzled at Mrs Penruthlan's evident pleasure and excitement. 'Oh, they're travelling players that wander round the countryside and play and act in our big barns,' said Mrs Penruthlan

2014, Enid Blyton, Famous Five: 12: Five Go Down To The Sea:

During recess an inviolable border separated the townies at the northern end of our play area from the barnies at the southern.

2016, Peter Straub, Interior Darkness: Selected Stories:

Peridot "You should just move in with us at this point."
Steven "Actually, maybe not me. But I know someone else who might be interested."
Navy "Hi! I'm Navy, a refugee from Homeworld. Just like you guys.
Peridot "So uh, when did you show up on Earth?"
Navy "Today."
Peridot "New barnie!"

2017, “Room for Ruby”, in Steven Universe:


Eurasian eagle owl

Eurasian eagle owl (plural Eurasian eagle owls)

Bubo bubo, the largest owl, native to almost all of temperate Eurasia.


buffy fish owl

Malay fish owl (Ketupa ketupu), of the family Strigidae.


Richardson's owl

Richardson's owl (plural Richardson's owls)


pygmy owl

Any of various species of small owl from the genus Glaucidium.


western barn owl

western barn owl (plural western barn owls)

A barn owl of the subspecies Tyto alba alba, endemic to western Eurasia and most of Africa.


deathbird

From a superstition of some North American Indians that it presages death. Compare Salentino Sicilian oceddu de la morte (“owl”, literally “death bird”) and Malagasy vorondolo (“owl”, literally “ghost bird”).


spotted eagle-owl

en-noun

spotted eagle-owl (plural spotted eagle-owls)

An eagle-owl of species Bubo africanus, one of the smallest eagle-owls, found in Africa.


Eurasian scops owl

Eurasian scops owl (plural Eurasian scops owls)

Any of species Otus scops of small owls.


Eurasian pygmy owl

Eurasian pygmy owl (plural Eurasian pygmy owls)

Glaucidium passerinum
Glaucidium passerinum#Translingual

Glaucidium passerinum, the smallest Eurasian owl.


flammulated owl

flammulated owl (plural flammulated owls)

Psiloscops flammeolus, a small nocturnal American owl with flame-like markings on the face.


rufous owl

A species of strigid owl, Ninox rufa, of New Guinea and north Australia.


red owl

Tyto soumagnei
Tyto soumagnei#Translingual


squinch owl

“I heard a squinch owl that night.” T.P. said.

1929, William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury:


mottled owl

Strix virgata, a medium-sized owl of parts of Central and South America, having the head and back mottled brown and the underparts whitish, with vertical bars on the chest and throat.


spotted owl

A North American owl of the species Strix occidentalis.


spotted owlet

A small Asian owl of the species Athene brama.


bare-legged owl

bare-legged owl (plural bare-legged owls)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bare-legged owl.wav

Margarobyas lawrencii, a species of owl endemic to Cuba.