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A review by shanaqui
What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
What an Owl Knows, by Jennifer Ackerman, is a fun exploration of owls as a species, how they're adapted for what they do, how they're adapting to changes made by humans, etc. There's a certain amount of "oh wow I touched a bird" personal stuff, and canned biographies of people who've interacted with owls for various reasons, but also plenty of facts and discussion thereof.
I learned some fascinating things, e.g. the fact that some owl species will adopt the owlets of other pairs, if the owlet gets into their nest or somehow interacts with them demanding food -- even if they don't currently have owlets of their own. And the fact that some screech owls grab blind snakes (they're tiny) and use them as nest cleaners, resulting in healthier, quicker-growing owlets.
It also contradicts some other stuff I was reading lately about owls being stupid, pointing out that they have small, densely packed neurons, as some other birds do -- allowing a high degree of intelligence, even if their kind of intelligence isn't as readily measured as that of primates or crows.
Overall, enjoyable and informative, if sometimes a bit padded with filler-statements about the majesticness of owls (you can only take it so often).
I learned some fascinating things, e.g. the fact that some owl species will adopt the owlets of other pairs, if the owlet gets into their nest or somehow interacts with them demanding food -- even if they don't currently have owlets of their own. And the fact that some screech owls grab blind snakes (they're tiny) and use them as nest cleaners, resulting in healthier, quicker-growing owlets.
It also contradicts some other stuff I was reading lately about owls being stupid, pointing out that they have small, densely packed neurons, as some other birds do -- allowing a high degree of intelligence, even if their kind of intelligence isn't as readily measured as that of primates or crows.
Overall, enjoyable and informative, if sometimes a bit padded with filler-statements about the majesticness of owls (you can only take it so often).