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A moving and informative memoir of life with a much-loved tawny owl. "'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. It appeared to be wearing a one-piece knitted jumpsuit of pale grey fluff with brown stitching, complete with an attached balaclava helmet. From the face-hole of the fuzzy balaclava, two big, shiny black eyes gazed up at me trustfully. Kweep, it said quietly. Enchanted, I leant closer. It blinked its furry grey eyelids, then jumped up onto my right shoulder. It felt like a big, warm dandelion head against my cheek, and it smelt like a milky new kitten. Kweep, it repeated, very softly.'" When author Martin Windrow met tawny owlet Mumble, it was love at first sight. Raising her from a fledgling, through adolescence and into her prime years, Windrow recorded every detail of their life together in a south London tower block, and later Sussex. This is the touching, erudite and eccentric story of their 15-year relationship, complete with photographs and illustrations of the beautiful Mumble. Along the way, we are given fascinating insight into the ornithology of owls -- from their evolution and biology to their breeding and hunting tactics.