A Pair of Masked Barn Owls on a branch (painting).

A Pair of Masked Barn Owls, painted in the mid 1800’s (Gould and Richter). The light face with its heart shape and the black eyes give the flying bird its mask like appearance. It has beautiful oversized black eyes, acute hearing, and it does not require sight to hunt.

The ancient Greeks saw the owls as a symbol of good fortune. The idea of the 'wise old owl' may have come into being with the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athene.

There are many old beliefs about owls. One of the unusual ones is the Welsh belief that if a owl is heard amongst houses then an unmarried girl has lost her virginity

Enjoy this beautiful painting of a very gracious bird, or gift it to your favourite bird fancier. Feel free to customize this gift with added text or a different background colour.