"It appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, a great arctic snowy owl on a bitter cold Wednesday in the middle of downtown Washington."

"Pedestrians at rush hour stopped in their tracks. Was it some kind of omen?

'What in the world?' one man said. The owl stared back, yellow eyes against perfect white feathers. 'What in the world?' its annoyed look said."

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post January 22, 2014. [2]