With the possible exception of hummingbirds, no avian group is more popular than owls. Perhaps for this reason, the number of owl books that have appeared in recent decades is mind boggling. Some are quite good; far too many are unexceptional. The best have been produced by owl specialists who are excellent researchers but not necessarily great writers. Thus I had high expectations when I learned that Scott Weidensaul had written a new owl book. Not only is he an experienced owl researcher, he’s a talented nonfiction writer. His nearly 30 books include The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species (2002, North Point Press), Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding (2007, Harcourt), and Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds (1999, North Point Press). The last was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and is my favorite among his titles.