The secret life of an owl review

“And the little owl cries and moans / Till the patient hears it / And clings tightly to the pillow.”From “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare

The author writes about the animal “poor owl”, which often appears as a bad omen. In Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, the court jester Buck instills fear when: “…the little owl cries and groans / Till the patient hears it / And clings tightly to the pillow”. In turn, owls are also considered wise advisors and good luck charms. Children and young adults may know Harry Potter’s faithful messenger, the fairytale snowy owl Hedwig, or the friendly and wise owl in the children’s book Pooh by AA Milne.

In these contrasting ideas that people have about nocturnal birds, Lewis-Stempel also describes what we currently know about animals. For example, owls are a sign of a working environment because, according to the author, they only hunt where there is life to prey on. Although they are not only interested in mice. Young owls are more likely to focus on insects such as cockatiels, cabbage cranes, and eared hornbills, Louis Stempel writes, although game keepers say they hunt for chicks. But other owls also eat large animals: everything that consists of meat; This extends to antelopes, as analyzes of their wool show. Hares, arctic hares, stoats and even hedgehogs can be identified on their menu.

Lewis-Stempel gives some of his more than 200 species as examples: with a good drawing and a short profile in which, among other things, size and weight are noted – females are always heavier, with eagle-owls the difference is up to a kilo. The owl, for example, makes it into the book ( Bobo Bobo), long-eared owl or tawny owl. The author briefly describes their way of life, where they live and why some of them have to be released in the UK so long after their country of origin.