Owl

The Owl is a major character in Link's Awakening who lives in Koholint Island. The Owl appears to Link as soon has he had gotten back his sword from Toronbo Shores, and would appear again on multiple occasions to share his words of wisdom. This Owl is greatly concerned of The Wind Fish's eternal slumber and upon seeing Link, believes that Link could be the one who would awaken The Wind Fish.

Giving Link directions in the form of a riddle, the Owl sends Link to various dungeons of the isle to retrieve the Eight Instruments of the Siren, which are all needed to awake The Wind Fish. This Owl also often hoots and is constantly reminding Link that The Wind Fish is watching his progress and awaits to be awakened.

In-game, the Owl appears as a yellow Owl. However his actual appearance is a white owl with brown wings and a brown backside. He also has large yellow eyes and a purple zig-zag pattern, complete with red dots, lining along his wings. In Link's Awakening DX, the Stone Slabs were changed into Owl Statues, which uses the Owl's sprite and same yellow coloring. In the Oracle series the Owl Statues also use the Owl's sprite, but are blue this time.

The Owl nor any other character within the game refers to him with a name, neither does the game's manual. Most players simply refer to this nameless owl as 'The Owl'.

This Owl may have also served as a prototype or concept for Kaepora Gaebora, the owl from Ocarina of Time (Which was released five years after Link's Awakening) who largely shares the same role but only appears to Young Link. Because of their strong similarities, some players also refer to this owl as Kaepora Gaebora as well, however these characters are not the same.

Origin
Upon getting the first Instrument of the Siren, the Full Moon Cello from Tail Cave, The Owl would once again appear. The Owl mentions that at first he did not believe that Link was real, suggesting that Link was actually a part of the dream world, as Koholint Island is a mere illusion dreamed up by the sleeping Wind Fish. However since Link had gotten the Instrument, it would seem that The Owl now believes that Link is in fact real. When explaining what the Instrument is, The Owl also mentions that he was given instructions to guide Link. The Owl was probably instructed by the sleeping Wind Fish, as the other inhabitants of Koholint Island are unaware that they are a part of the dream world.

After getting the fifth instrument, The Owl will instruct Link to the Southern Face Shrine 'where ancient ruins speak of the Wind Fish.' After defeating the mini-boss there, Link discovers some writing and a drawing on the wall. The walls reveal that the isle is a dream of The Wind Fish and by awakening him would make the island disappear. The walls depict a drawing of The Wind Fish as well as the Owl. The Owl outside will reassure Link by telling him that no one is really sure, and the only way to find out would be to awaken The Wind Fish. The Owl then tells Link to trust his feelings and then flies off.

The Owl is also quite aware of 'the song of awakening', the Ballad of the Wind Fish, the song which needs to be played with the Eight Instruments of the Siren to awaken The Wind Fish. After Link completes the seventh dungeon, Eagle Tower, he would encounter Marin, who often sings The Ballad of the Wind Fish, in the Tal Tal Mountain Range. After saving her from some monsters, The Owl thinks that she could have been trying to awaken The Wind Fish with her song, which seems to be true as Marin had revealed earlier her wish of being a seagull, and hoped that The Wind Fish would make her wish come true.

After getting all of the Instruments, Link goes in front of The Wind Fish's egg and plays The Ballad of the Wind Fish on the Instruments of the Siren. By doing so, an opening cracked open in the egg and The Owl flew down and told Link to simply go inside. After completing the maze and defeating the final Nightmare inside, a stairway opens which takes Link to The Wind Fish's room. There, the Owl appears to Link for the final time.

The Owl then reveals that he was in fact part of The Wind Fish's spirit, which probably explains why the Owl was so concerned about The Wind Fish and why he had appeared on the walls of the Southern Face Shrine. As the spirit of The Wind Fish, the Owl was also the guardian of The Wind Fish's dream world. He also explains that Nightmares had invaded the dream world and had probably been the cause of The Wind Fish's inability to awake. As The Wind Fish is about to awaken, The Owl thanks Link once last time and wishes him farewell before fading away, rather than flying off.