Raptor specialist Eugene Potapov and Arctic expert Richard Sale form a talented and experienced authorship team that has written some superb books for Christopher Helm. Their first Poyser title, The Gyrfalcon (2005), was the winner of The Wildlife Society's 'Best Science Book 2006' award; Richard Sale's most recent work, A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife (2006) is a spectacular addition to the Helm list.

The Snowy Owl - possibly the world's sexiest bird - needs little introduction. This massive white owl breeds throughout the Arctic, wherever there are voles or lemmings to hunt, from Scandinavia through northern Russia to Canada and Greenland. Southerly movements in winter see North American birds travel as far south as the northern United States, while infrequent vagrants on the Shetlands and other northern isles are a magnet for birders.

The Snowy Owl gives this popular bird the full Poyser treatment, with sections looking at morphology, distribution, palaeontology and evolution, habitat, breeding, diet, population dynamics, movements, interspecific relationships and conservation, supported by some fabulous photography and the art of Jackie Garner. A major strength is the availability to the authors of Russian literature, which is generally out of reach for Western scientists.

A MUST have for those with a technical or semi-technical interest in the species.

excellent, packed with information yet readable, and produced to...high standard

lead[s] you into areas of the natural world that you hadn't really considered before. ...covered with a scientific thoroughness and rigour

fascinating and instructive contents...easily understandable and fluent. ...an impressively detailed monograph.

Monograph of the beautiful Snowy Owl, famed for its elegant, all-white plumage