But love among the skyscrapers is a risky proposition. As the great birds of prey - one male, known as Pale Male because of his colouring, and two successive females, First Love and Chocolate - prepared for parenthood, the loyal watchers grew apprehensive ... with good reason, it turned out. The unfolding drama, chronicled by Marie Winn in this enchanting book, was to take some unexpected twists, developing into a magical tale of disappearance and mistaken identity. In telling it, the author draws us spellbound into the adventures not only of the hawks, but also of the park's other wildlife residents - water birds, owls, raccoons, orioles, woodpeckers - and of the birdwatchers, whom we come to know as the Regulars. In a tale as bewitching as Alice's, Central Park is the wonderland; its inhabitants, both human and avian, are the compelling cast of characters in this most charming story of romance, exhilaration, despair and obsession.