Symbol of wisdom or harbinger of death – the owl preserves its mystery
As the author of this engaging book makes plain, it is with good reason that owls are such cherished birds. They possess the most acute sense of hearing not just of any avian group but possibly of any creature. In experimental conditions of total darkness, barn owls were able to catch mice merely by hearing their rustling as they moved. The owls’ own flight is soundless because of special comb-like structures on the leading edges of their wings. Almost all owl species are adapted to see acutely at night and the largest are able to catch deer or pluck young eagles from the nest. But it is not merely these definable physical attributes that set owls apart. They also have a psychological aura. Their forward-facing eyes in a rather flat-faced configuration mimic our own arrangement.
