Sounds like something a cat would say. Suspicious.

Arknights is made by a Chinese company.
Owls are literally called "cat-headed eagle" in Chinese.

Either way still a "cat" /jk. Fork and checkmate, Perlica.

NNescio said in comment #2579789:
Owls are literally called "cat-headed eagle" in Chinese.

What, is she supposed to be an owl, instead? I have never seen an owl with ears (the pinnae part).

AlsoSprachOdin said in comment #2579792:

i have never seen an owl with ears (the pinnae part).

They're ear tufts of which various owl species have particularly prominent ones.

GreyOmega said in comment #2579797:

They're ear tufts of which various owl species have particularly prominent ones.

Well, the tag say "bird ears". These things look distinctly like cat ears rather than owl ear tufts. I'm pretty sure the creators just wanted a cat girl but thought it would be cliché or something, so they make the ears a little different and say "actually an owl".
I don't like that. Seems like a pretense at creativity. So fuck it. It's a cat.

AlsoSprachOdin said in comment #2579801:

Well, the tag say "bird ears". These things look distinctly like cat ears rather than owl ear tufts. I'm pretty sure the creators just wanted a cat girl but thought it would be cliché or something, so they make the ears a little different and say "actually an owl".
I don't like that. Seems like a pretense at creativity. So fuck it. It's a cat.

This isn't new for Arknights for what it's worth. A lot of their Liberi characters have the same kind of ear tufts. Ptilopsis and Silence have them as well.