2013, a man from Inverness, Scotland suffered heavy bleeding and went into shock after being attacked by an owl, which was likely a eagle-owl. The photographer Eric Hosking lost his left eye after attempting to photograph a tawny owl, which inspired the title of his 1970 autobiography, An Eye for a Bird. Conservation issues Almost all owls are listed in Appendix II of the international CITES treaty (the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) with four species listed in Appendix I. Although owls have long been hunted, a 2008 news story from Malaysia indicates that the magnitude of owl poaching may be on the rise. In November 2008, TRAFFIC reported the seizure of 900 plucked and "oven-ready" owls in Peninsular Malaysia. Said Chris Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer for TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia office, "This is the first time we know of where 'ready-prepared' owls have been seized in Malaysia, and it may mark the start of a new trend in wild meat from the region. We will be monitoring developments closely." TRAFFIC commended the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Malaysia for the raid that exposed the huge haul of owls. Included in the seizure were dead and plucked barn owls, spotted wood owls, crested serpent eagles, barred eagles, and brown wood owls, as well as 7,000 live lizards. In addition to hunting, other threats to owl populations are habitat loss, pesticides, viruses, and vehicle collisions. References Further reading Calaprice, Alice & Heinrich, Bernd (1990): Owl in the House: A Naturalist's Diary. Joy Street Books, Boston. . Duncan, James (2013). The Complete Book of North American Owls. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego. . Duncan, James (2003). Owls of the World. Key Porter Books, Toronto. . Heinrich, Bernd (1987): One Man's Owl. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. . . Johnsgard, Paul A. (2002): North American Owls: Biology and Natural History, 2nd ed. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. . Maslow, Jonathan Evan (1983): The Owl Papers, 1st Vintage Books ed. Vintage Books, New York. . Sibley, Charles Gald & Monroe, Burt L. Jr. (1990): Distribution and taxonomy of the birds of the world: A Study in Molecular Evolution. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. External links The Owl Pages Owl Brain Atlas Smithsonian Snowy Owl Info World Owl Trust Athenian Owl coins Eurasia: World of Owls – Northern Ireland's only owl, bird of prey and exotic