The snowy owl, in John James Audubon, The Birds of America

First-year students at Hogwarts were allowed to bring an owl, a cat or a toad to school – all animals with historic magical significance. Here you can see a pair of snowy owls, the same breed as Hedwig, Harry’s owl. The hand-coloured illustration appears in the enormous Birds of America, which shows every bird native to North America at actual size. The finished book is just over 3¼ feet (1m) tall and is the most expensive printed book ever sold at auction. Shown here: vol. 2, plate CXXI