Wise, maybe; skilled, definitely!

kw: book reviews, nonfiction, science, natural history, memoirs, owls

The collective term for owls is usually "parliament", at least in Europe. On this side of the pond, "congress" is equally common. This is because owls are considered wise, at least in folklore, because of their face and demeanor, and parliaments and congresses are expected to consist of wise persons. These days, that's questionable!

These are most likely Tawny Owls (Strix aluco), the subject of the second chapter in The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls by Miriam Darlington.

Ms Darlington traveled around the British Isles, including Iona, to observe the five species of owl to be found there: Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Long-Eared Owl, and Short-Eared Owl (the scientific names are explained in the chapters). The Eagle Owl native to Eurasia is sometimes seen in England, but she traveled to Finland to see them, and even to handle some chicks being censused (an Eagle Owl chick needs very careful handling; they can credibly claw your arm off). She also encountered owls in Croatia and France.

For those whose main memory of owls is of the letter-carriers in the first Harry Potter film, these are not subdued, passive birds. Owls tend to live on the edge of existence, with seldom a trace of body fat. A bird that looks the size of an 8 pound housecat may weigh only a pound under all those fathers. A male Pygmy Owl weighs just over 2 ounces, the female about 2.5 ounces. They have the attitude of conquering giants. The author often remarks upon their outraged look upon capture. An owl's hooked beak is eminently suited to decapitating its prey, the mouse, vole, rat, lemming, songbird or even smaller owl once it takes it. The details of owl feathers ensure silent flight; if you get too close to a nest and cannot be lured off, the parent bird might attack from above and behind, and you'll never hear it coming. 

If we weren't so culturally bound up in "wise old owl" folklore, we'd call them silent assassins. Their habits are as varied as their habitats, but the silent attack from above is pretty universal. Even those owls that wait in ambush rely on silence and stealth to approach their prey.

Sadly, in many areas owls are under siege because they are misunderstood to prey on pets or farm fowl. They are usually much more interested in rodents and, for smaller owls, crickets and locusts and other pests. A pair of barn owls, for example, need a daily mouse apiece, and when they have growing chicks, each chick must be fed two or three mice daily. That adds up to around a thousand mice yearly per pair. The only folks who have a credible complaint against owls as predators are those who want the mice left for game animals such as foxes (this more in England than America; we Yanks don't understand fox hunting). The author, along with owl aficionados, crusades for owl preservation. It costs much less to install nest boxes to attract resident owls, than to put out rodent poison. Farmers who "employ" owls for rodent control come to have great affection for their airborne assassin squads.

In North America, we may seldom see an owl, but in forested areas we hear them. The common "owl call", "Hooo-hoo-hoo-hooooh" is the Great Horned Owl. Other sounds are made by the various screech owls, which are well named, while a Barn Owl makes a scream or shriek more like a large hawk, but lasting about two seconds. If you get to know the calls of the local owls, take comfort that "someone" is out there doing their best to make a dent in the rodent population.

Ms Darlington carried out her studies of owls while caring for her son Benjy, who as a teen became afflicted with a seizure disorder similar to epilepsy. The extra stress provided the "lemons" for her to "make lemonade" by including her daughter and son in some of her escapades, at least among local and regional owls. She writes with lyrical abandon. Reading the book fills one's heart.