Owl Coloring Pages

Owls fly in near silence. The leading edge of the flight feather is fringed rather than smooth, which breaks up the air that would otherwise whistle over the wing, and it is the reason a barn owl can drop on a mouse it located entirely by ear. These 15 owl coloring pages cover barn owls, great horned owls, snowy owls and screech owls, plus owlets, nests and a few pages that lean whimsical. Each downloads as a free printable PDF sized for US Letter paper.

Start with the perched birds. Barn Owl Perched on a Fence Post, Great Horned Owl on a Tree Branch and Tiny Fluffy Baby Owlet all keep the body as one clear silhouette. Wise Owl Wearing Round Glasses on a Stack of Books is the one children reach for first. For a longer sitting, Detailed Close-Up Portrait of a Great Horned Owl and Snowy Owl Soaring in Flight carry the finest feather work in the set.

Owl plumage is built in overlapping rows of small feathers, each with a darker bar or spot across it. You do not have to color them individually, lay a flat base over the whole breast, then add the barring on top with a sharper pencil in a deeper tone of the same color. That two-step approach reads as detailed plumage and takes a fraction of the time.

The set also runs to owls in situations rather than owls on branches. Barn Owl Swooping Low to Hunt is the only page with the wings fully open, which makes it the best sheet for seeing how the primaries fan out. Owl on Branch Surrounded by Autumn Leaves and Small Screech Owl Perched on a Saguaro Cactus place the bird in a specific habitat, while Owl Perched on Top of a Vintage Lantern and Owl Sitting on a Branch With the Full Moon Behind It are the two night scenes. On both of those, leave the eyes as bare paper. An owl's eyes are the brightest thing on the page, and unfilled white against a dark sky does more work than any yellow pencil can.

More in this direction: Birds, Bats, Forests and Halloween.