The Book of Flaco

The World’s Most Famous Bird

By: David Gessner

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

The story of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from Central Park Zoo and captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of followers around the world.

Nature writer David Gessner chronicles the year-long odyssey of Flaco and the human drama that followed the owl who captured the imaginations of New Yorkers and people around the world. Though he'd spent his life in a cage, Flaco learned to survive in New York City by eating rats, squirrels, and birds. He was an immigrant coming from elsewhere to make it in the big city. Central Park, the island of green in an urban sea, was his new home territory.

Flaco's urban adventure brought controversy, pitting those who felt he should be returned to the safety of the zoo against those who created the "Free Flaco" movement. The birding world was fractured over the ethics of the online sharing of his location that brought scores of enthusiasts to view him each day. And his end—with a grim necropsy revealing Flaco had suffered a viral infection from eating pigeons and had multiple rodenticides in his system—serves as a Rachel Carson-esque warning about the harm we've done to our urban environments, inspiring the passage of long-sought legislation protecting urban birds and regulations meant to reduce the use of rodenticides in New York City.

©2025 David Gessner (P)2025 Tantor Media

Flaco

Wonderful true story about an owl that captured the attention of a city. David Gassner captures the excitement, the worry and the wonder of an escaped bird. Beautiful. I felt the agony and excitement.

beautiful book!

Fascinating story -- and well read! To be honest, I didn't know much about this owl, but it's a story of conservation, ethics, community, joy in nature, and all sorts of things I adore!