The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar by Martin Windrow

When new acquaintances learned that they were talking to a book editor who shared a seventh-floor flat in a South London tower block with a Tawny Owl, some tended to edge away, rather thoughtfully. In The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar, Windrow recalls with wry humor their finer moments as well as the reactions of incredulous neighbors, the awkwardness of buying Mumble unskinned rabbit at Harrods Food Hall, and the grievous sense of loss when Mumble nearly escapes.Īs Windrow writes: 'Mumble was so much a part of my life in those days that the oddity of our relationship seldom occurred to me, and I only thought about it when faced with other people's astonishment. Adorable but with knife-sharp talons, Mumble became Windrow's closest, if at times unpredictable, companion, first in a South London flat and later in the more owl-friendly Sussex countryside.

Martin Windrow was a war historian with little experience with pets when he adopted an owl the size of a corncob.

The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar is a witty, quirky and utterly charming account of the companionship between one man and his owl.The story of an odd couple-a British military historian and the Tawny Owl with whom he lived for fifteen years Along the way, we are given fascinating insight into the ornithology of owls - from their evolution and biology to their breeding habits and hunting tactics. This is the touching, intriguing and eccentric story of their 15-year relationship, complete with photographs and illustrations of the beautiful Mumble. Raising her from a fledgling, through adolescence and into her prime years, Windrow recorded every detail of their time living together (secretly) in a south London tower block, and later in a Sussex village. Kweep, it said quietly.' When author Martin Windrow met the tawny owlet that he christened Mumble, it was love at first sight. From the face-hole of the fuzzy balaclava, two big, shiny black eyes gazed up at me trustfully. It appeared to be wearing a one-piece knitted jumpsuit of pale grey fluff with brown stitching, complete with an attached balaclava helmet.

'Perched on the back of a sunlit chair was something about 9 inches tall and shaped rather like a plump toy penguin with a nose-job. Print The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar

The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar by Martin Windrow