Owl Behaviour

Years ago I came across a delightful book about an owl called Uhu (pronounced Yoo-Hoo) by Annette Macarthur-Onslow.  It tells of the short life and untimely death of a baby tawny owl that had fallen from its nest and been rescued by Macarthur-Onslow.

Today I'm reading about another owl, Wesley the barn owl, who is the subject of a NY Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller. In the first couple of pages of her book, Stacey O'Brien talks about the 'Way of the Owl'.

"Owls mate for life, and when an owl's mate dies, he doesn't necessarily go out and find another partner. Instead, he might turn his head to face the tree on which he's sitting and stare fixedly in a deep depression until he dies. Such profound grief is indicative of how passionately owls can feel and how devoted they are to their mates. This is the Way of the Owl."