Jobberknoll

• Ministry of Magic Classification: XX (Harmless / May be domesticated)
• Native to: Northern Europe and America
• Distinguishing Features: Lifelong silence, a single death-scream composed of all sounds heard in its life, blue speckled feathers

The Jobberknoll is a small, blue, speckled bird that feeds primarily on small insects. Its most remarkable characteristic, as detailed in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, is that it remains completely silent for its entire life. Only at the moment of its death does it finally vocalize, letting out a single, long scream. This scream is composed of every sound the Jobberknoll has ever heard during its lifetime, regurgitated in reverse order.

Jobberknoll feathers are a valuable potion ingredient. They are known to be used in the brewing of both Truth Serums and Memory Potions. The magical properties of the feathers are likely linked to the creature's unique relationship with sound and memory.

While the Jobberknoll is not directly featured in the main narrative of the original seven Harry Potter novels, it is mentioned during the Care of Magical Creatures Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) exam in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Students taking the practical exam were required to identify a Jobberknoll by its cry. This presents a notable contradiction with the information provided in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook, which explicitly states the creature is silent until death.

The name 'Jobberknoll' may be a corruption of 'jobbernowl,' an archaic English word for a simpleton or a blockhead. Alternatively, it could be a portmanteau of the words 'jabber' (to speak rapidly and nonsensically) and 'knoll' (a small hill). This could be a playful reference to the creature metaphorically 'piling up' all the sounds it hears to 'jabber' them all out at once at the end of its life.

• In the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a flock of Jobberknolls are among the creatures that escape from Newt Scamander's magical suitcase in New York. Newt later recaptures them by luring them with a Gerbil. (film)
• Jobberknolls appear in the video game Hogwarts Legacy. The player can rescue them from poacher camps, nurture them in the Vivariums inside the Room of Requirement, and collect their feathers, which are used as a resource for upgrading equipment. (video game)
• The contradiction between the O.W.L. exam question in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the creature's description in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a point of fan discussion. It is unknown if the exam question was a trick, if the Jobberknoll presented was in the process of dying, or if it was a minor oversight in the lore.