26 Enigmatic Vintage Owl Drawings & Illustrations In The Public Domain
Wise, mysterious and just a little bit spooky, owls have some of the most expressive faces in the bird world! I've gathered 26 beautiful vintage owl drawings and illustrations, from magnificent snowy owls and wide-eyed little owlets to charming Japanese woodblock prints. Perfect for art enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.
I think I've heard more owls than I've seen. This is unsurprising, as they are nocturnal birds with a distinct hooting call. One used to live in the tree outside my bedroom window. I never saw it, but I could hear it calling every night.
My father is an ornithologist, and I once asked him what his favourite bird was. He replied, "Owls," without hesitation. Unfortunately, I didn't ask him why, but I have compiled a list of interesting facts about owls that might explain his choice. And hopefully, he will enjoy this collection of owl drawings and illustrations.
Interesting Facts About Owls
- Over 200 species of owls exist. They range in size from the tiny Elf Owl, 5-6 inches tall, to the Great Grey Owl, which can be as tall as 32 inches.
- They are found on every continent except Antarctica.
- As already mentioned, they are nocturnal birds.
- Owls are exceptional hunters; they hunt insects, small mammals, other birds and, in some cases, fish. A Northern Hawk Owl can detect a vole up to half a mile away.
- An owl's sharp beak and powerful talons let it kill prey before swallowing it whole.
- Owls have a distinctive flat face with large eyes. They are farsighted and can't focus clearly on near objects.
- Owl eyeballs aren't completely spherical and can't move. They compensate by rotating their necks up to 270 degrees.
- Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. This increases their ability to pinpoint the location of a particular sound accurately.
- The collective noun for a group of Owls is a Parliament. This originates from a description of a meeting of Owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
- Owls often feature in fiction. Examples of famous owls include "Owl" in Winnie the Pooh, "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear, and Hedwig, Harry Potter's owl.
- In Western culture, Owls are normally associated with wisdom, but in many other cultures, they are considered a bad omen.
How To Download the Vintage Owl Drawings and Illustrations
Click the title above the owl image you want to download. A higher-resolution picture of the owl will open as a new window in your browser. Then click the image to save the owl illustration to your hard drive.
Print 1. How To Draw Owls
An illustration showing you how to draw three different types of owls. The owl drawings are from a French book, "Les animaux tels qu'ils sont" (animals as they are), by Robert Lambry and Léon Lambry, 1930.
2. Be Not Wise in Thine Own Eyes
A beautiful illustration from the Library of Congress, 1872. I love the floral border.
"The Owls Serenade", 1894 sheet music cover. Petrie Music Co., Chicago, published the sheet music; the Library at Duke University holds a copy.
This owl is featured in the DIY Halloween shadow box craft.
German Owls from the book "Deutschlands Fauna" published in 1839.
A drawing of a snowy owl from "Illustrations of the American Ornithology of Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte" was published in 1835.
Snowy owls are Arctic birds and one of the largest owl species. It is the only owl with predominantly white plumage. Harry Potter's owl Hedwig is a female snowy owl.
This collection of winter birds includes a few more snowy owl prints on Pictureboxblue.
Four owl illustrations from the "Edinburgh Journal of Natural History and of the Physical Sciences", 1835.
The owls illustrated include a Virginian Horned Owl, Long-Eared Owl and Mottled Owl.
Another collection of four owl drawings from the "Edinburgh Journal of Natural History and the Physical Sciences", 1835.
The first owl is a boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl, a small, shy owl that people rarely see.
A lovely drawing of an Oriental Bay Owl from the Iconographia Zoologica collection at the University of Amsterdam.
Another vintage owl from the Iconographia Zoologica.
Little Owl drawing by John Gould, from "The Birds of Great Britain", published in London, 1873.
The spotted eagle-owl, also known as the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized owl, one of the smallest eagle-owl species.
The print is from "Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux", 1838 by F.G. Levrault et al.
A painting of the Great Horned Owl by George Edwards and from the Iconographia Zoologica collection.
Five species of American Owls from the "Illustrations of the American Ornithology of Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte", 1835.
The owl illustrations include a Hawk Owl, Barred Owl, Barn Owl, Little Owl and Burrowing Owl.
More species of American Owls from the "Illustrations of the American Ornithology of Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucian Bonaparte" 1835.
A Boreal Owl (Tengmalm's Owl) with a mouse, drawing by John Gould, from "The Birds of Great Britain" published: London 1873.
Another Gould owl print is available to download with these vintage bird wood slice ornaments.
A delightful Japanese painting of an Eagle Owl in a magnolia tree by Kubo Shunman. The Japanese woodblock print is from the collection at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Another delightful little Japanese woodblock painting of an owl. Scops Owl, Cherry Blossoms, and full Moon, woodblock print, ink and colour on paper by Ohara Koson.
Owl drawing by Mark Catesby from "Catesby Natural History of Carolina", published in 1731.
Painting by Thomas Watlin,g 1790. The original is at the National Museum of Victoria in Australia.
An drawing of a Little Horned Owl from "Indian Zoology" published in 1790.
Another vintage owl illustration from the Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam.
Another vintage owl illustration from the Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections, University of Amsterdam.
A beautiful print of a Great Grey Owl from the "Birds of America" by John James Audubon.
This owl is featured in the collection of vintage woodland animal illustrations.
You'll find Audubon peiican prints here.
Another lovely drawing of a great horned owl from the Library of Congress collection, from 1874.
A pair of owls perched in pine trees, from Martin Gerlach's vintage plant art book "Die Pflanze in Kunst und Gewerbe" 1886.
Print 26: Vintage Japanese Owls
A pair of owls perched in blossoming trees by the Japanese artist Kono Bairei.
I hope you enjoyed these owl drawings, illustrations and paintings. You can download a printable vintage owl board game here.
Don't forget to check out the many other vintage bird prints on Pictureboxblue. These include other iconic bird species, such as penguins, toucans, herons, flamingos, hummingbirds and my personal favourite cockatoos.
There are also beautiful bird naturalist prints of George Shaw and bird identification posters by Adolphe Millot.
Owls are often associated with Halloween; for more spooky inspiration, check out the creepy vintage spider prints.
THANKS VERY MUCH VERY USEFUL FOR MY TEACHING? GOD BLESS!
You're welcome; glad you enjoyed them.
Thanks much for another great collection!
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.
These are so charming, Claire! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Thank you so much.
wonderful old illustrations and information. I loved reading this and saving some to Pinterest. perfect for fall!
Thank you, they are lovely prints.
Thank you! I love owls and this is great!!
Thank you so much.