The Best Nonfiction Books About Owls

The Owl: In Art, Myth, and Legend

by Krystyna Weinstein

This is a book that every owl enthusiast should own. Hardbound and in coffee table book format, this book creates an interesting bridge between folklore and owls. The idea for the book sprung from the author's interest in folklore and her husband's fascination with owls. Many of the works reproduced in the book are from their private collection of owl-related books, photos, and materials.

The book is heavily illustrated with photos and works of art depicting owls. It does seem like there's an art genre out there which is solely focused on the depiction of owls in drawings, paintings, and even sculpture. Humans have always been fascinated by the owl. We have been drawing and painting them for the longest time. 

This book offers a quick examination of the many ways that humans make art and stories because of their fascination of the owl. Weinstein takes readers on a journey around the world and across time periods. If you love owls, legends, myths, and stories, then read this book. It's really fascinating. It's richly illustrated with more than a hundred photos and art works.

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl

by Stacey O'Brien

Listen To Lyrebirds Mimic Sounds Originally Made By Laser Guns, Camera Shutters, Chainsaws And Other Birds

If you think talking parrots are cool, wait till you hear what a lyrebird can do. This ground-dwelling bird which can be found in some parts of Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Melbourne) can mimic a very diverse number of sounds that it might as well be called the most talented mimic in the animal world.

At first glance, the lyrebird looks like just another ordinary bird. But you will be taken aback once it opens its beaks and starts making different sounds at a machine gun pace. What's even more amazing is the fact that the bird easily transitions from one sound to another. One second it's laughing like a kookaburra, the next second it's mouthing the sounds made by a camera shutter.

The obvious question is how does the lyrebird do it? How come it can copy dozens of sounds while most other birds can only produce a single sound? Well, the secret to the lyrebird's unmatched vocal repertoire lies in its syrinx. The syrinx is the vocal organ for birds and the lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled among songbirds.

Below are videos of lyrebirds demonstrating their unique abilities. If you listen closely, you can hear them mimicking sounds originally made by laser toy guns, kookaburras, camera shutters, car alarms, other birds, and even chainsaws.

Wen Hao Lee via YouTube.

Lyrebirds can also mimic rifle-shots, dogs barking, babies crying, saws, mill whistles, and even the human voice.

In 1969, a park ranger named Neville Fenton at the New England National Park in New South Wales recorded a lyrebird song which after some investigation turned out to be a modified version of two popular songs from the 1930s - Mosquito's Dance and The Keel Row.

A Very Rare White Albino Crow Caught And Filmed In Mindanao, Philippines

There's a very popular idiomatic expression among Filipinos that goes "Kapag pumuti na ang uwak (When crows turn white)." It's an expression to assert the impossibility of something ever occuring. It's very similar to the English idiom, "When pigs fly."Well, this Filipino idiom runs the risk of losing its relevance after the establishment of the fact that white albino crows do exist.

A man from the southern province of Lanao del Norte in the Philippines has in fact filmed one. Freddie C. Puerto captured a thirty-second footage of a rare white albino crow in barangay Maranding in 2012. However, it was only last year (2013) that he uploaded the video on his Facebook page. The clip has since captured a lot of attention. As of this writing, the video has generated over 20,000 shares.

White crows are indeed very rare but they've been recorded and documented almost in every country where they are part of the local bird population. Their white colors are due to a congenital disorder called albinism. This is caused by problems with pigment production. The disorder has also been documented in other birds like the kookaburra.

White albino crows are also often distinct from each other. A full albino bird would have pink beaks, pink feet, and either pink or red eyes. In other instances, the bird may have white feathers but may still retain the black coloring on its beak, eyes and face.

So the next time somebody uses the idiom, "Kapag pumuti na ang uwak" on you, you should show him or her this video of an albino crow.

Adorable Baby Swans Hitch A Ride On Their Mother's Back During A Swim At A Lake

Professional photographer Jonathan Fletcher came across a brood of adorable baby swans and their mother swimming at the Fradley Junction and Kingfisher Nature Reserve in Staffordshire, England. The baby swans, known as swanlings or cygnets, scrambled on the water to get a hitch on their mother's broad back. Fletcher captured the moment with his camera. Climbing over and riding on their mother's back is not uncommon among baby swans.

Amazing Animated Short Featuring A Black Bird And Two Elephant Seals

It's hard to believe that this amazing animated short is the work of an animation student. Not only that, it's the student's first animated short. This young and talented artist is going places, for sure. He is Victor Caire of France. DreamWorks, Disney, somebody, hire this guy already.

12 Ducklings Attempting To Climb Three Giant Steps

While watching these twelve adorable ducklings attempt to climb three giant steps, you can't help but cheer them on. As the mother wait at the top of the steps, her cute brood of twelve ducklings scramble to reach her. In front of them are three giant steps that they need to climb over. They climb only to fall back to where they started. After many false starts, all of them finally were able to reach their mom at the top of the stairs.

Humans Can Learn A Lesson Or Two From This Unlikely Friendship Between A Bird And A Dog

A bird and a dog running around the green grass at some yard. They are playing and having a great time. If you're just reading the preceding lines from some book, you might not believe the story because it sounds rather unlikely. But it's very true. As you can see in the video below, such friendship exists. And it's absolutely fun to watch. If you're wondering about the kind of the bird, it's an Australian magpie.

Brazilian Musician Creates Music Based On A Photo Of Birds Perched On Electric Wires

Jarbas Agnelli, a Brazilian musician was reading a newspaper (O Estado de Sao Paulo) one morning when a photograph took his attention. The photo showed several birds perched on electric wires. The birds looked like notes on a music sheet so Mr. Agnelli decided to make a song based on the exact location of the birds on the wires. The photograph was taken by Paulo Pinto.

This Bird Can Speak Japanese

If you are to listen to Abe without having to look at her, you would think that she is a Japanese girl. But no, she's but a bird. Abe is the pet bird of a woman in Japan. Obviously, Abe has been taught to mimic Japanese words and phrases. But what makes this amazing is the sound of her voice. It's almost as if it's coming from a real human being.

Abe is a Common Myna bird. The Common Myna is native to Asia and they've become popular as cage birds and pets because of their singing and speaking capabilities. They can make several bird calls like croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks, whistles, and growls. This versatility makes it almost very easy for them to mimic sounds by humans and other animals.