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Tytonidae in relation to Strigadae

In the Ga'Hoole series, "Tyto owl" typically refers to owls in the Tytoninae subfamily (red).

Tytoninae/Tyto is a subfamily of owl species within the family Tytonidae, which is comprised of Barn Owls and their closest relatives, including Masked Owls, Grass Owls and Sooty Owls.

The Tyto genus plays a prominent role in the Guardian of Ga’Hoole series seeing as the core of the Pure Ones’ ideology is that owls of the Tyto genus are inherently supirior and more “pure” than all other owls, especially owls of the Strigidae family, which the Pure Ones consider “impure”. The level of perceived purity assigned to owl species within the Tyto genus are further determined based on their coloration.

There are currently 17 Tyto species recognized by science, although only about 6 are mentioned in the Ga'Hoole series.

Etymology[]

Tyto alba was the first of its genus to be given a scientific name. The Greek name, bestowed upon the species in 1769 by Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, translates to "white owl" (tyto: owl, alba: white). The ancient Greek word tyto is onomatopoeic is origin, deriving from the "too-too" sound that many owls make. (While the Tyto genus itself is not known for having too-too like calls, tyto was likely a generic term for all owls at the time.)

The Pure Ones[]

Barn Owl2

The Barn Owl, Tyto alba.

Main article: Pure Ones (Books)

The ideology of the Pure Ones is comparable to that of racial supremacy; the Pure Ones believe that owls of the Tytoninae subfamily (Tyto owls) are inherently superior to owls of the Strigidae family. The goal of the Pure Ones is to impose their inherent superiority upon the owl kingdoms and have all "impure" species become subservient to them. However, to the Pure Ones, not all Tytos were veiwed as equal - some species were considered less pure than Tyto alba, and so a hierarchy of "pureness" formed within the Pure Ones, with "less pure" species never being promoted beyond specific ranks in the Pure One army.

This hierarchy does not appear to apply in the movie.

Species hierarchy of the Pure Ones[]

  1. Barn Owl
  2. Masked Owl
  3. Grass Owl
  4. Greater Sooty Owl
  5. Lesser Sooty Owl

Bay Owls[]

Oriental bay owl Wikimedia User Kalyanvarma

Oriental Bay Owl.

Bay Owls are scantly mentioned throughout the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series and so their relationship with the Pure Ones is unclear. Phodilus, the Bay Owls, is also a subfamily within Tytonidae, but no Bay Owl Pure One characters are ever mentioned within the books. Despite residing within Tytonidae, Phodilus look rather distinct, having more U-shaped faces and typically being much smaller than Tyto species.

Due to the fact that Bay Owls are never mentioned when the books bring up Tyto species hierarchy, it can be assumed that the Pure Ones did not consider Bay Owls to be pure enough to join their ranks. If they ever did accept Bay Owls, it is likely that they would have ranked even lower than Lesser Sooty Owls.

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