Who Says Size Matters? Big and Tiny Owl Are Each Other's Wingman

When owl-lover Mick Warrior, 62, adopted a baby barn owl named Crystal with a malformed foot six months ago, there was no way for him to know how his European eagle owl, Billy, would react to the tiny new addition. His massive 15-year-old pet (with a 6-ft. wing span!) could easily devour the diminutive barn owl — so their introduction would have to be slow.

"I had them about two or three weeks and gradually put him on the perch with him," Warrior tells PEOPLEPets.com. What happened next was a surprise: "They got on so lovely together."

Now Warrior reports that the two birds (who are 2 feet high and 9 inches, respectively) are best buds, "they sit on the perch together, they ride in the car together. They go in the aviary together. They react together, like they've been together for years."

Warrior, who is retired, takes the owls to meet Harry Potter enthusiasts and to elderly homes where people admire their amazing feathers and faces. "Billy, he rides in the car, like a dog," he says. "Crystal rides in the car as well, she sits beside him."

The birds even eat together in the aviary — but there isn't any sharing of food. "Billy eats four chicks and a rat a day," Warrior explains. "He'll only eat the white rats. The little barn owl will eat about two chicks, and one mouse."

Their friendship seems to have had a positive effect on the barn owl's damaged foot, too. "It corrected itself after three months," he says. "She's good as gold now."

See more unusual pairs on PEOPLEPets.com:
Otter and Dog Love! These Unlikely Pals Play Together by the Water
Best Buddies: Suryia the Orangutan & Roscoe the Hound!

Amy Jamieson