A mysterious blue owl from the Middle Kingdom known as the Striga slowly gains control over Coryn's mind and institutes a harsh new regime that begins to control the learning at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where the Band fights to break through to Coryn and force him to acknowledge the Striga's harmful influence.
A great horned owl's stirrings to mate carry him across a forest in January in the Catskill Mountains, where he observes the nocturnal activities of other animals.