Free, Printable Coloring Pages
Halloween Owl Coloring Pages
I think owls have become of Halloween stories because they're such fascinating noctural birds. I see them quite often where I'm from and the way their eyes reflect any light... the way they can sit so still in the dark and can nearly spin their head round to stare at you makes them worthy of some spooky Halloween respect. I also feel like I see them more in autumn... maybe because of migration? Or just because there are fewer leaves in the trees?
Jump to: Autumn Owls | Night Owls | A Witch's Owl
Why Owls Hoot More in Autumn
If you hear more hooting on chilly autumn nights, you're not imagining it. Baby owls that hatched in spring are grown by autumn, and they have to leave home and find a patch of woods of their own. All that moving in means lots of calling back and forth while the owls sort out who lives where. Great horned owls start their courting duets in late autumn too, just in time for Halloween.
Silent Wings in the Dark
Owls are built for the night. Their huge eyes soak up what little moonlight there is, and their feathers have soft fringed edges that hush the air as they fly, so a mouse never hears them coming. Something gliding past without a sound is spooky on any night of the year. No wonder people started thinking of owls as Halloween creatures.
A Witch's Owl
In old English folk stories, a witch often had a familiar, an animal helper that kept her company and ran her errands. Cats and toads turn up most in those old tales, but owls suit the job beautifully. They're awake when witches were said to be out brewing, and their wide watchful eyes look like they're in on every secret.
Witches' familiars coloring pages
The Strix (Roman Legend)
Not every owl in the old stories was a helpful sidekick. The Romans feared the strix, a screeching night owl with hooked claws, and some believed a witch could turn herself into one and fly off over the rooftops. Roman parents had a very good reason to keep an eye on the nursery window...
Owls kept turning up in witch stories for centuries afterwards. Even the three witches in Macbeth toss a howlet's wing (a young owl's wing) into their bubbling cauldron.
