A family were flabbergasted when an owl flapped its way into their home and decided to perch on top of the Christmas tree.

The uninvited avian arrived unannounced after coming down the chimney of a house in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington DC, USA, on Wednesday night.

Footage released by the family and animal rescuers, Animal Welfare League of Arlington, shows the huge owl circling the ceiling before coming to rest on top of a large festive tree in the living room.

According to NBC, Savannah Burgoyne was at home with her baby when she heard something in the fireplace and then later the family dog growled. When Ms Burgoyne went to the kitchen she was suddenly confronted by “a huge owl sitting on our baby’s highchair”.

Ms Burgoyne joked: “I’m, like, very personally sad that there’s no Hogwarts enrollment letter that it came with. It’s a magical Christmas moment that it felt comfortable on top of the Christmas tree. It knocked over our star.”

After FaceTiming the bizarre moment with her husband Jason, the family called the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, who sent their Sergeant of Animal Control, Spencer Murray, to the unusual scene.

Heartwarming footage shows the moment Sgt Murray attempted to get the owl under control, but the bird seemed to prefer flying back to enjoy its spot on top of the family tree.

The Burgoyne’s three-year-old and six-year-old daughters can be heard laughing and enjoying the animals antics and having already toppled the star from the tree, it seemed clear the owl wanted to remain the centre of attention.

Eventually however, Sgt Spencer was able to carefully get the wayward visitor under control and safely release the unharmed owl back into the wild from the family garden.

Writing on their Facebook page, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, made light of the amusing encounter, posting: “Twas the week before Christmas, and perched on the tree was an unexpected visitor as majestic as can be.

“This beautiful barred owl decided to play Santa and drop in, literally, through the chimney of a local home, and declared himself the newest star on top of their Christmas tree (look closely – you’ll see he knocked the old star over to make room for himself).

“Sgt Murray answered the call, gently capturing our feathered friend and safely releasing it back into the wild.”

Barred owls can have a wingspan of up to four feet, with females being around a third larger than males and weighing around 1,100g.