“ There is no bird, which in its strange and solitary character , its weird and hollow cries, the grotesque solemnity of its appearance, the time honoured beliefs and superstitions which cluster round it, the large part it has played in poetry, ancient and modern, as well as its sisters art, sculptures and paintings, the marvellous adaptations of its structure to its mode of life, or its mode of life to its structure… posseses so peculiar a fascination.. as the various species of owl ”.

- Reginal Bosworth Smith - Bird Life and Bird Lore (1995).