Nyra

Nyra, a female barn owl (Tyto alba), is the secondary antagonist in the first half of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series, the main antagonist in the second half of the series, and the secondary antagonist of the 2010 movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. She was mate to Metal Beak (real name Kludd), the main antagonist in both the book and the film (though in the film, Metal Beak (real name Surtr) and Kludd are two separate owls). 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 received 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 succeeding 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 newly hatched 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 (a position taken by Skench in the books), and was the mate of Metal Beak (whose name is revealed in the video game to be Surtr who is a separate owl from Kludd, who is younger than Nyra in this film). 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 (who greatly admires Nyra), 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 infiltrated 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 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 occasions they glowed red during battle, perhaps as an allusion to her haggish roots or her anger.

Family

 * Mate - Kludd/Metal Beak (books), Surtr/Metal Beak (film)
 * Son - Nyroc/Coryn
 * Brother-In-Law - Soren
 * Sister-In-Law - Eglantine
 * Nieces - Blythe, Bell and Sebastiana
 * Father-In-Law - Noctus
 * Mother-In-Law - Marella

Trivia

 * Nyra is similar to Zira
 * Both are leaders of a evil animal group (Pure Ones and Outsiders)
 * Both have sons whom they wish to be like their deceased father/paternal figure (Nyra wanted Coryn to be like his father Kludd whilst Zira wanted her son Kovu to be like his adoptive father Scar).
 * Both oppose another group led by a relative of their deceased mate/boss (Nyra and the Pure Ones opposed Soren (Kludd's brother) and the Guardians whilst Zira and the Outsiders opposed Scar's nephew Simba and the Pridelanders).
 * Both get angry with their sons and give them scars. Though unlike Zira, Nyra felt guilty afterwards for scarring Coryn and apologised.
 * In the books, Nyra was married to Kludd, though he was younger than her. In the film, Nyra is married to Surtr (who serves as Metal Beak in the film) whilst Kludd is portrayed as a adolescent and much younger than Nyra, but has a crush on her.
 * Nyra is also similar to Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter universe.
 * Both are villainesses.
 * Both act as second-in-command of a group (Pure Ones and Death Eaters).
 * Both they and their group oppose another group (The Guardians and Dumbledore's Army).
 * Both are close to their group's leader (Metal Beak and Lord Voldemort).
 * Both later have a child with their leader (Nyroc and Delphini).