More from the article ...

... The state Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday that the incident happened on Feb. 21 in the hamlet of East Durham, about 127 miles (204 kilometers) north of Manhattan.

The agency said customers at The Market Place had spotted "something extremely lifelike" on one of the shelves and alerted store staff.

Environmental conservation police officers arrived to find a brown-and-white owl perched on a shelf with its eyes firmly shut.

The department said officers gently cradled the sleeping owl to remove it from the store, and then released it into a wooded area, where it flew into a nearby tree. ...

@#2

:)

@#4

There's an owl around here that visits my yard occasionally.

For some reason, when it is in the area, some critters (mice) seem to go elsewhere.

I noticed the correlation in the mouse traps I have.

All that aside ...

It is curious why the owl chose to sleep next to the ceramic chicken.

Or is it?

I wish I knew.