The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word OWLS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
O
W
L
S
More clues leading to the result OWLS
- Cries to axe top Members of Parliament
- Birds of prey decapitated chickens
- Hearts broken from wails in parliament?
- Nocturnal hunters regularly leaving for Wales
- Birds giving distressed cries not initially heard
- Cries seeing husband leaving Hooters
- Birds making shrieks in the East End?
- Slow-moving mice may get snapped up by them
- 10 headless chickens
- Hens — headless birds
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The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does OWLS mean?
OWLS noun- Any of various birds of prey of the order Strigiformes that are primarily nocturnal and have forward-looking, binocular vision, limited eye movement, and good hearing.
- (by extension) A person seen as having owl-like characteristics, especially appearing wise or serious, or being nocturnally active.
- The owl pigeon.
- A politician with moderate views that are neither hawkish nor dovish.
- Any of various nymphalid butterflies having large eyespots on the wings.