Dusk is filling the valley It is the time of the gloaming the owl-light Out in the wood the resident tawny has started calling Hoo-hoo-hoo-h-o-o-o' There is something about owls They feature in every major culture from the Stone Age onwards They are creatures of the night & thus of magic They are the birds of ill-tidings the avian messengers from the Other Side But owls
- with the sapient flatness of their faces their big round eyes their paternal expressions
- are also reassuringly familiar We see them as wise like Athena's owl & loyal like Harry Potter's Hedwig Human-like in other words No other species has so captivated us In The Secret Life of the Owl John Lewis-Stempel explores the legends & history of the owl & in vivid lyrical prose he celebrates all the realities of this magnificent creature whose natural powers are as fantastic as any myth ' John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation' Country Life