#NYC mourns sudden passing of beloved Central Park owl

Hoo could measure how many smiles this bird brought?

After flying into a car early Friday morning, one of the most popular residents of Central Park passed away, the park announced today.

“It’s with a heavy heart we share that a barred owl, a beloved Central Park resident, passed away early this morning,” the park’s official Twitter account tweeted before laying out the tragic details of the bird’s death.

“Flying low, likely in search of a meal, the barred owl made contact with a Conservancy maintenance vehicle at approximately 2:30 am,” the park said. “Conservancy staff immediately reported the incident and Urban Park Rangers were contacted.”

It was unclear as of this writing whether the deceased owl was Barry the barred owl, who has been profiled in the New York Times and has her own Twitter account, or another, less famous barred owl who the park was merely honoring in eulogy. 

Upon request for comment, a spokesperson clarified that it is unknown whether the owl was Barry or another member of her species.

“We cannot say for certain if it was Barry, but we can confirm it was a barred owl,” a Central Park Conservancy spokesperson told Insider.

The creature was mourned widely, no matter its identity. 

“We are saddened to learn that our beloved BARRED OWL died last night in an accidental collision with a @CentralParkNYC maintenance vehicle. We will miss her wondrous and beautiful presence in the park,” popular nature account Manhattan Bird Alert tweeted. 

Despite the uncertainty, even Barry’s own Twitter account assumed the bird in question was she and mourned her passing.

“We anticipated that one day she may fly away to find a mate, but never imagined she would be taken like this. We are utterly heartbroken, frankly, angry, and we are mourning alongside you,” tweeted Barry’s account. “Rest in peace, sweet, bea-hoot-iful, talon-ted, one-of-a-kind Barry. We will always love and miss you, fren.”