Owls: The Silent Fliers. Rev. ed.

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

Owls, which first appeared in 1997 and is now republished in an updated
edition, is both an ornithologically informative and an engagingly
personal record of all the species that inhabit the North American
continent. R.D. Lawrence is a naturalist who has made an effort to care
for wounded birds and animals and then release them in the wild.
Wherever relevant, he includes accounts of such birds in his text, most
notably one about a snowy owl that had been arrested after it bit a
policeman! As a result of his intimate contact with many owls, Lawrence
is insistent on regarding birds as individuals.

His emphasis, then, is not merely on the owls themselves, but on human
responses to them. He opens with a foreword concentrating on folk
superstitions toward them, then offers background information about the
evolution of owls. Subsequent chapters are devoted to particular
species; these begin with pleasantly written descriptions and anecdotes,
and end with information about measurements, distribution, and eggs.

This attractively produced coffee-table book, which contains a generous
number of superb color photographs, is not so much for active birders as
for those who like to appreciate owls comfortably at home. However, all
owl-buffs will find it a delight.