Just about anything anyone would want to know about diurnal raptors (eagles, hawks, falcons, and vultures) is in this book. Owls are not included. Weidensaul is a wonderfully engaging writer, and the text is readily accessible to most readers from sixth graders to adults. In addition to the usual topics covered in a textbook such as taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, behavior, and ecology, the author devotes more than 100 pages to conservation, the symbolism of raptors in various human cultures, falconry, and what to do when an injured bird is found. The book is lavishly illustrated with color photographs and has numerous tables and graphs. There is a good index and a six-page bibliography. Unfortunately the information is not up-to-date; the text has not been revised from Weidensaul's earlier book with a similar title--Raptors: The Birds of Prey (CH, Jan'97). The bibliography does not even include Weidensaul's own superb 1999 book on bird migration, Living on the Wind (CH, Dec'99). Despite this, the volume is a worthwhile addition to most libraries since there is nothing comparable and even good textbooks such as Frank Gill's Ornithology (2nd ed., 1995) are similarly out-of-date. General readers; undergraduates through faculty; two-year technical program students.