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1%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1632711819077817100
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3%%
4[[quoteright:250:[[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/celeste_nl.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:250:''[[OwlsAskWho Hoo]]'' is the cutest little bird?]]
6%%
7Owls are, to put it bluntly, [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter adorable]]. There is something about those perfectly round shapes, those [[PuppyDogEyes big eyes]], and their beautiful fluffy plumage that appeals to us. They also have silly features like their AbnormalLimbRotationRange, faces that read to humans as a perpetual mix of TheComicallySerious and EyeTake, and their cute little hoots which have served so many "WhosOnFirst" jokes that it [[OwlsAskWho became its own sub-trope]].
8
9Even if you are [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes ornithophobic]][[note]]a fear that an owl lover would consider an "AbsurdPhobia", but it is a real condition like most other phobias and must be respected[[/note]], you can at least admit that they are rather CreepyCute, or at the very least [[FreakyIsCool pretty rad]].
10
11There are two kinds of '''Cute Owls''' that mostly coincide with the two real-life families of owls:
12* The ''Tytonidae'' - Barn owls and their relatives - is mostly represented cute in an [[ProperLady elegant way]] because of its [[WomenAreDelicate softer features]] and lighter colors and is as such depicted almost [[SpeciesEqualsGender always female in fiction]]. It doesn't necessarily forbids her to be BadassAdorable and she could still have SilkHidingSteel.
13* The ''Strigidae'' - 'Typical' or 'eared' owls[[note]]they are not actual ears, only display plumage, and not all true owls have them[[/note]] - is often depicted as an EndearinglyDorky nerd, coupling this trope with TheOwlKnowingOne, the most common {{Animal Stereotype|s}} associated with owls. Expect this CuteBookworm to have scruffy feathers, wear NerdGlasses (the big circles around its eyes being a natural inspiration of this), bowties and other geeky accessories. For a long time, this variety was almost AlwaysMale -- leading to a common misconception that the two varieties are from [[SpeciesEqualsGender the same family]] with BizarreSexualDimorphism -- but the growing representation of [[GamerChick female geeks]] in media is slowly discrediting this cliché.
14
15Contrast OminousOwl and FeatheredFiend, who are very much not like this. Compare TheOwlKnowingOne, UnwiseOwl, and NobleBirdOfPrey. Note that [[CuteIsEvil cute owls could still be evil]], even the [[EvilGenius nerdy ones]].
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17For other birds with similar connotations, see DovesMeanPeace and BluebirdOfHappiness.
18
19----
20!!Examples
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24* ''Manga/{{Basara}}'': The heroine Sarasa has a pet in the form of Shinbashi, an utterly adorable, tiny pet owl (she adopted him precisely because he was the runt of the litter) that's always with her. His presence often serves as a reprieve from ''Basara'''s heavy story of destiny, rebellion and political intrigue.
25* Rowlet is already one of these in the games, but Ash's Rowlet in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' is even more so, with its ditzy, perpetually sleepy personality and its habit of hiding in Ash's backpack.
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder:Comic Books]]
29* The children's comic series ''ComicBook/{{Owly}}'' by Andy Runton is all about the adventures of an incredibly cute (and vegetarian!) owl.
30[[/folder]]
31
32[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
33* In ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGahoole'', while most owls are badass, the owlets, particularly Soren's little sister Eglantine, are ridiculously cute. Gylfie the elf owl and Soren himself manage to be BadassAdorable.
34* Eva the Russian snowy owl in ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar''. Despite her rather [[TheStoic stoic]] face, Kowalski is deeply in love with her.
35* Merlin's talking owl Archimedes in ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone.''
36* There is an owl among the WoodlandCreatures in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
40* Bubo, the [[RobotBuddy mechanical owl]] in the original ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|1981}}''. Athena sent it to help Perseus, but it ends up being more of a PluckyComicRelief.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Literature]]
44* ''Literature/BlueMoose'': Dave the MountainMan has an adorable owl for a companion.
45* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': There are comments from female students on Ron's owl Pigwidgeon being cute in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire The Goblet of Fire]]'' (and he is a total {{keet}}). Ron thinks he's a stupid little feathery git.
46%% Do not put any Hedwig example unless you have some InUniverse quote describing her as cute.
47* ''Literature/LittleOwlsNight'': The main character Little Owl.
48* The title characters of Martin Waddell's children's book ''Literature/OwlBabies''.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Live Action TV]]
52* ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'': Although the ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursSaurischianDinosaurs Mononykus]]'' is not an owl, it does have both the similar facial disk and light tawny born and white colours of a barn owl, and is plenty cute the way it runs and bumbles around.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Toys]]
56* Although some people find them creepy, Toys/{{Furb|y}}ies -- {{Cartoon Creature}}s looking like a [[MixAndMatchCritters mashup]] of an owl, a hamster and a [[Film/{{Gremlins}} mogwai]] -- were ''intended'' to be cute and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHWcBbf0Eng advertised]] as such.
57* [[http://www.owleez.com/en_us Owleez]] are adorable electronic owls that can actually fly, thanks to retractable propellers.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Video Games]]
61* Feh from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' is an adorable tiny white owl who delivers you items throughout the game.
62* Blathers from the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series can be considered cute in a dorky kind of way. His little sister Celeste however is completely cute with her BlackBeadEyes, {{Blush Sticker}}s and pink bow. You can even tease Celeste about her being cute.[[invoked]]
63* Cedric the Owl in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'' is your standard WiseOldOwl / ExpositionFairy, but his [[AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal monocle]] and [[HalfDressedCartoonAnimal jacket]] definitively makes him cuter. His voice and role in the game however [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper didn't please everybody]].
64* Mahina from ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'' qualifies when Ochette chooses her as her AnimalCompanion. She's a malamaowl (an owl with elemental powers) who's Ochette's best friend, and she has a more [[NiceGirl openly-sweet]] personality than Akala does (who still cares about Ochette, but is a tad more strict with her). [[spoiler:Very much averted if Ochette chose Akala instead, as Mahina ends up being Ochette's final boss instead.]]
65* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
66** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduces the Grass starter Rowlet, a bowtied {{Mon}} so round that it can almost be considered a WaddlingHead. Its later evolutions are more cute in a dorky way, as Dartrix is a NeatFreak who tends to bungle things up and only makes things worse, while Decidueye acts all cool until someone gets the drop on it which then it panics.
67** Back in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]'', Hoothoot could arguably be described as CreepyCute with its round shape, its [[SphereEyes big]] [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] eyes, and [[UnusualEyebrows crazy eyebrows]] and "[[ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow eyeliner]]". Its evolution Noctowl however completely drops the cute act for a more [[OminousOwl imposing stature]]. Note that Hoothoot line is based on the ''Strigidae'' while the Rowlet line is based on the ''Tytonidae''.
68** The Togepi line, particularly Togekiss, may also be partially based on owls.
69* In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'', Hunters get the services of a new pet called the Cohoot in place of the Poogie as a village pet you can pet and dress up. While on the hunt, Cohoots serve about the same purpose as [[VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld Scoutflies]], tracking down and scouting monsters your Hunter is pursuing among other things.
70* The mascot of the EdutainmentGame VideoGame/{{Duolingo}} is Duo, a small green owl, also a case of TheOwlKnowingOne.
71* Hootle from ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' is an adorably round owlet who serves as the TeamPet and overall mascot of the game. The longest sidequest in the game involves using Hootle to track down other owls to help them find their way back home to the Owl Forest.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Web Comics]]
75* In ''Webcomic/RealmOfOwls'', especially the owl people's babies are an epitome of a cute owl, but the adults also tend to look cute when they goof around and stare at stuff happening in front of them.
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Web Animation]]
79* Octavia, Stolas's daughter from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', was ''adorable'' when she was a little girl. These days, she's more of an embittered EmoTeen as a result of having to deal with her mother and father's relationship. Likewise, Stolas was quite cute himself when he was younger.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Web Original]]
83* The [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/art-student-owl Art Student Owl]] meme averts this, being a cynical, lazy, and jaded character who is always seen smoking. However, his counterpart, Art Newbie Owl, completely fits the bill, being a young WideEyedIdealist owl who is very excited about art.
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Web Video]]
87* WebVideo/TrueFacts [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeFxdkaFzRA About the Owl]] is chock-full of examples. They include:
88** A burrowing owl doing an extreme version of the QuizzicalTilt.
89** A pygmy owl...[[CreepyCute in the process of killing a woodpecker]].
90** Another burrowing owl investigating a tunnel camera.
91** Owls of various species being petted by humans, and apparently enjoying it a lot.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Western Animation]]
95* In ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'', Season 1 "[[Recap/CentralParkS1E6RivalBusker Rival Busker]]", Owen and Cole watches a live stream of an owl's nest that has a mother owl and her babies, which they name one of them Tito. Because when Tito falls out of its nest, they both decide to go save it despite interfering with nature.
96* The classic WesternAnimation/MerrieMelodies short ''WesternAnimation/ILoveToSinga'' features a little owl singing jazz in a radio contest.
97-->''"I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a."''
98* In the second season of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', [=BoJack=] starts dating a cute female owl named Wanda Pierce, although it is less her cuteness and more the fact that she has [[PopCulturalOsmosis no idea of all the gossip surrounding him]], having just awakened from a [[ConvenientComa 30-year coma]], that made him fall in love with her.
99* Owlowicious from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Everybody immediately falls in love with the cute bird, Rarity even giving him a gems-encrusted bowtie at one point, except for Spike who is [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of the owl getting so much attention. Through his eyes, everything he does is {{ominous|owl}}.
100--> ''(Owlowicious [[AbnormalLimbRotationRange turns his head 180 degrees]] and stares at Spike with a ScareChord)''
101--> '''Spike:''' Whoa! Dude, [[ExorcistHead that's creepy]].
102** Chad the Owl from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsHolidaysUnwrapped'', who hangs around Fluttershy in the "Winter Break-In" segment. Sunset wants to use him as a distraction in her plan to sneak into a locked Canterlot High, but Twilight shoots the idea down.
103* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
104** The Cosmic Owl was presented as a mysterious and all powerful deity that everyone [[OminousOwl fears and respects]] as he appears in PropheticDreams. When he is formally introduced in the show, it turns out that he is a nerdy and awkward guy who just wants to play TabletopGames with friends.
105** Subverted with the bird woman (who is some kind of squirrel-owl mixup) from the episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS6E36Hoots Hoots]]". When the Cosmic Owl sees her in while visiting dreams, he [[LoveAtFirstSight immediately falls for her]] and starts dating her, but it is eventually revealed that she is [[spoiler: an avatar of Gunter a.k.a. Orgalorg manipulating him to appear in Princess Bubblegum's dream and turn it into a prophetic nightmare]].
106* ''WesternAnimation/PuffinRock'' has Otto and his younger siblings Pip and Pop.
107* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' has Eda's [[{{Familiar}} palisman]], Owlbert. She even admits at one point that she can't get mad at him because he's so cute.
108[[/folder]]
109

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