We all know the iconic silhouette of a witch on a broomstick – but an owl?

A captivating image of a great horned owl, bearing a striking resemblance to a witch soaring in the air on her broomstick, made waves online.

Just in time for the Halloween season, this owl’s antics caught the attention of many.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Eric Lind, the man behind the viral video, captured the owl’s unique flight in his parents’ Eureka, Illinois neighborhood on a day in mid-October.

To everyone’s astonishment, the owl had snatched a stick horse toy and was parading it around mid-air, reminiscent of a witch cruising the autumnal skies.

Recounting the amusing incident to Newsweek, Lind said:

“My mom received a call from one of the neighbors telling her to look outside in the backyard at our pine tree. They had spotted the owl as it flew into the tree initially, but couldn’t quite tell what it was carrying at first.”

Upon investigating, the Lind family quickly realized that the owl’s newfound toy was, in fact, a stick horse.

It seemed to have been drawn to the stick horse.

Some observers speculated that the owl might have focused on the toy because the horse’s head resembled a fluffy creature, possibly appearing as prey.

Lind took to social media to share his photos and a video of the owl’s escapade.

His post humorously read,

“Current situation at my parents house…..the young neighborhood owl has stolen this stick horse and is flying around the neighborhood with it. Hilldale/Forest Park/Ridge lane neighbors…if your child is missing their stick horse, you’ll have to talk to the owl!!”

The post exploded in popularity.

It was Lind’s first Facebook post since February, and it currently has over 101,000 shares.

The video alone was viewed more than 5 million times and has led to many funny comments like:

“That’s just some young wizards owl, bringing them their limited edition pony-head quidditch broom.”

Someone else wrote:

“All it needs is the Wicked Witch of the West music.”

But while many found humor in the situation, some expressed concern for the owl’s well-being.

Addressing these concerns, Lind clarified,

“For those of you questioning if the owl is hurt or “entangled” in the stick horse….we have no reason to believe this is the case as we witnessed the owl moving the horse around and even changing it’s grip on it at one point….this owl is part of a family of owls that have been in the neighborhood for about 6 months now, and this is one of the young owls…if someone sees that the owl is in danger or believes it is hurt, I’m sure the proper authorities would be contacted…”