Owl

Description

From ancient Babylon to Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat and the grandiloquent, absent-minded Owl from Winnie-the-Pooh to David Lynch's Twin Peaks, owls have woven themselves into the fabric of human culture from earliest times. Beautiful, silent, pitiless predators of the night, possessing contradictory qualities of good and evil, they are enigmatic creatures that dwell throughout the world yet barely make their presence known. In this classic Reaktion title, now available in paperback, bestselling author and broadcaster Desmond Morris explores the natural and cultural history of one of nature's most popular creatures. He describes the evolution, the many species and the wide spread of owls around the world, as well as their appearance in folk tales, myths and legends, art, film, literature and popular culture. Originally published in 2009, this new format edition features many telling illustrations from nature and culture and will appeal to the many devotees of this emblematic bird.

Desmond Morris is a world-renowned zoologist and television presenter, and the author of many best-selling books on human and animal behaviour, including Cats in Art (Reaktion, 2017). He has also written four books in Reaktion's Animal series.

`This paperback is filled with drawings and photographs of owls and our depictions of owls throughout time. An avid fan of art, I was especially enthralled by seeing Pablo Picasso's paintings and ceramics of owls. Harry Potter fans will certainly enjoy this book.' - The Guardian