But the chance to observe bird behavior outside the lab intrigues the ethologist.

When Caltech biologist Stacey O'Brien is asked to adopt a four – day – old barn owlet by her research department, she is wary of raising an unreleasable wild animal in her living space. But nature can be harsh as well, graphically illustrated by a mother cheetah bringing back small or injured prey for her babies to practice the kill, and a grey heron stepping on the head of a flock mate before dining on its flesh.Ī mouse-devouring predator with an injured wing makes a strange but fascinating soul mate in Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl. Unforgettable pictures include a brown trout leaping out of a stream, mouth gaping, to eat a damselfly, a flock of oxpeckers sucking blood from the back and ears of an African buffalo, giraffe in combat and a short account of how the Marsh Warbler learns its song. Broken into three massive sections – the Animal Kingdom, Animal Anatomy and Animal Behavior – the book uses the most distinctive or spectacular examples to illustrate every aspect of life in the wild, from birth and development, sexual rivalry and raising young, play and learning, and society and intelligence to predation, scavenging, hunting, camouflage and deception. Compiled in association with the American Museum of Natural History and captured by some of the world's best wildlife photographers, this coffee – table safari is full of action – packed close encounters with some of the world's most exotic and familiar species. Animal Life is the ultimate armchair expedition for wildlife enthusiasts.

Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien