Nyra

Nyra, a female barn owl (Tyto alba), is one of the primary antagonists in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series and the secondary antagonist of the 2010 movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. She was mate to Metal Beak, the main antagonist in both the book and the film. She was voiced by Helen Mirren in the film.

In the Book
She is first seen in the fourth book, where she is the mate of Kludd (Metal Beak) and aspires for them to rule the owl kingdoms together.

During the battle of Ga'Hoole she killed Strix Struma, then receved a scar on her face from Otulissa. In the next book, she is going to hatch Kludd's egg, and also pretends to be Kludd, Soren, and Eglantine's mother, almost succeding in turning Eglantine to her side. However, Eglantine steals her egg, and than smashes it. In book six, she has another egg that is about to hatch. In the end, after Kludd died, she is seen with her newley hached chick, naming him Nyroc because he was born on the eclipse.

In the Movie


In the film adaption of the novels, Nyra was the Ablah General of St. Aggie's, and was the mate of Metal Beak (a separate owl from Kludd). She was responsible for the forcing of young, kidnapped owlets to search for flecks, the magnetic particles she plotted with Metal Beak to use against the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. She believed Tytos, especially Tyto Albas, to be the most pure of all owls, and took a great interest in Kludd, believing him to be a valuable soldier for the Pure Ones army. She picked Kludd and several other Tytos, two presumably being a Sooty Owl and a Grass Owl, and trained them to be as ruthless and strong as the Pure Ones. She engaged Grimble in battle while Gylfie and Soren were trying to escape, and was unsuccessful at capturing them once she killed Grimble. When the Guardians inflitrated the Pure Ones' stronghold, she battled against them with her troops, though she withdrew from most of the fighting. She engaged Ezylryb in battle along with her mate, Metal Beak, when he returned to the Pure Ones' castle in search of their leader. When Metal Beak was killed by Soren, she withdrew with her troops, leaving the body of her mate behind. In the movie, Nyra had red markings around her eyes and on the crest of her beak and face. She was larger than any other Barn Owl in the movie, and her feathers were nearly pure white, unlike many other Barn Owls, who exhibited reddish or brownish coloring on their chests and wings. This may mark her high status, as it is mentioned that many of the high ranking owls bleached and dyed their feathers certain colors, mostly white, to show their purity. Her eyes were a piercing hazel-blue color, but on several occassions they glowed red during battle, perhaps as an allusion to her haggish roots or her anger.