noun, masculine/i.bu/plural: hiboux
owl (specifically, those species of owls with ear tufts; those without ear tufts are chouettes)
Related: hibou des marais, hibou grand-duc, hibou petit-duc
Ultimately imitative. Possibly from or influenced by a descendant of Proto-West Germanic *hūō. Compare Old High German hūwo, ūvo, (h)ūwila and, as a borrowing into Romance, Catalan òbila, òliba. If so, related to English owl. Compare also Latin būbō.