Owl Birds

In India, owls are considered bad omens, messengers of ill luck, or servants of the dead. It's not uncommon for someone doing something foolish to be called an 'owl'. However, the owl has been considered wise and given a place of prestige in Indian mythology. For instance, Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, rides on an owl. Even in present times, some people of India, particularly Bengalis, believe that if a white owl enters a home it is treated as a good omen by relating it to the possible flow of money into that home.
Western culture
The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens, noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol. Marija Gimbutas traces veneration of the owl as a goddess, among other birds, to the culture of Old Europe, long pre-dating Indo-European cultures.