Messages from an Owl (Princeton Legacy Library)

By Max R. Terman

Book Overview

When zoologist Max Terman came to the rescue of a great horned owlet in a Kansas town park, he embarked on an adventure that would test his scientific ingenuity and lead to unprecedented observations of an owl's hidden life in the wild. In Messages from an Owl , Terman not only relates his experiences nursing the starving owlet, "Stripey," back to health and teaching it survival skills in his barn, but also describes the anxiety and elation of letting a companion loose into an uncertain world. Once Terman felt that Stripey knew how to dive after prey, he set the owl free. At this point his story could have ended, with no clue as to what the young bird's fate would be--had it not been for Terman's experimentation with radio tags. By strapping the tags to Stripey, he actually managed to follow the owl into the wild and observe for himself the behavior of a hand-reared individual reunited with its natural environment. Through this unique use of telemetry, Terman tracked Stripey for over six years after the bird left the scientist's barn and took up residence in the surrounding countryside on the Kansas prairie. The radio beacon provided Terman with information on the owl's regular patterns of playing, hunting, exploring, and protecting. It enabled him to witness the moments when Stripey was bantered and mobbed by crows, when other owls launched fierce attacks, and when a prospective mate caught Stripey's eye. On occasional returns to the barn, the owl would follow Terman around as he performed chores, usually waiting for a handout. Until now, scientists have generally believed that an owl nurtured by humans becomes ill-adapted for meeting the challenges of life in the wild. Terman's research proves otherwise. Stripey surpassed all expectations by becoming a totally independent wild creature. With Terman, however, Stripey remained tame, allowing the author to explore something one rarely sees in owls: a warm interest in humanity. Terman engagingly re-creates this dimension of Stripey as he describes with humor and compassion the daily challenges of probing the life of a "phantom winged tiger." Originally published in 1996. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691011052
• ISBN13: 9780691011059
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Messages from an Owl

The Great Horned Owl, the largest of all the owl species, has been discribed as the most ferocious predator on the face of the planet. It is known as the "tiger of the night". Not a likely candidate for adoption by a human, yet that is exactly what happened. Raised from a malnurished, abandoned owlet of four weeks until his eventual release into the wild six years later, the story of "Stripey" is a spetacular one, poignantly told. This is a great, great read even if you don't give a rip about owls. Unfortunately, it's not filthy, salacious, and scandalous. This will be dissapointing news to anyone under the age of, say, thirty five but the book is, after all, about an owl. You write about owls, you have to make certain concessions. Sadly, there are no nude pictures of owls (they all wear feathers) so those of you from the under twenty crowd who attempt to read this book will be greatly vexed. The good news is that Messages from an Owl overcomes these obstacles by being wholesone and fun. Messages from an Owl is a pure, unadulterated joy to read. You gotta kid? He or she will love it. You got grand parents? They'll love it. You got you? You'll love it. Your ex-wife? Well, who knows? Furthermore, and here's a check mark in the "I'll drink to that" column: As of this writing, Stripey, after almost ten years in the wild, is still alive and flourishing on a Kansas farm two miles from where he was reared. Further, furthermore, there is a factual twist toward the end of the book that will make you want to put a check mark in the "That's far out, man" column as well as the "I'll drink to that again" Column. From frigid and cheerless Taxamaxus, Wisconsin, I say, "Take my govenor, please" and "Let's here it for the Owl". "Yea, Owl!!!"

Well balanced

This book follows the life of a Great Horned Owl "Stripey", who was abandoned as a 4 week old chick, and raised and subsequently released and observed by Author and Zoologist Max Terman for a study in Animal behaviour. This thoroughly enjoyable book successfully combines scientific observation, reasoning and speculation with the joys and rewards that relationships between humans and animals can bring. Although a factual account, "Messages from an Owl" reads much like a novel, complete with twists in the plot and happy and sad moments. I highly recommend this book, not only for people interested in biology but for anyone who would enjoy following the life and times of two companions, and Owl and a Man.Deane P. Lewis

Owl Speak!

Max Terman has given us a most delightful read. I love the typography and layout. The quotes at the head of each chapter lead us on a challenging "Owl Prowl". What a privilege it would be to go in person and check out Stripey and the other owls with Max. But next best thing is pulling his book off of the shelf and reading it again and again. Each new read brings a new insight into the lives of great horned owls and the life of humans who care about them. The book is a classic.

Good read for nature fans

I really love this book. Terman writes with an engaging style and he through him I can feel the triumphs and failures of the owl Stripey. It's not often I get attached to an animal I've never met, but this book brings Stripey to life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.