Understanding Owls: Biology, Management, Breeding, Training

With their glowing, unblinking eyes they seem to notice everything -- and to have the wisdom to understand it all, too. From biology and taxonomy, to housing, feeding, incubation, and rearing to training and flying, a master breeder and trainer of owls shares her extensive knowledge of these nighttime creatures -- both in the wild and in captivity. A general overview covers their anatomy, and a morphology details the various subfamilies of owl. Find out about the role their specially adapted -- and extremely beautiful feathers -- play in aiding their "silent flight"; the incredible variety of noises they make (and how these can help you identify a breed); the intricacies of their behavior patterns; and the way the babies are hatched, fed, and nurtured. Here's what you need for those first attempts at breeding and to train and hunt with your birds of prey. Dozens of remarkable full-color photos provide a close-up look at barn owls, Eagle owls, tawny owls, and snowy owls.

This book represents an entirely different way of looking at owls: from the standpoint of those who want to keep and breed them in captivity. The author has written a number of other books on keeping and taming birds of prey. Her approach to studying owls is therefore a practical one. Beginning with two short chapters on owl taxonomy and biology, the author moves quickly to the meat of her work, the keeping of owls. She makes the point that the first question potential owl keepers should ask is, Why do I want one? She then covers all of the working aspects of owl keeping: housing, equipment, feeding, breeding, and training. The British bias to the book is its only weakness, lessening the usefulness of the appendixes, not to mention the problem of the differences between wildlife laws in the U.K. and the U.S. However, the author's no-nonsense approach to the keeping of owls is refreshing, and her advice has broad applicability to the keeping of birds in captivity. Nancy Bent