This beautiful hardback book, Birds and Us, comes courtesy of “inspiring ornithologist” Tim Birkhead, who has written several other books about them, too. As a bird lover, and sometime twitcher, I’m in awe of this singular scientist’s wonderful work already, and this new book builds on his reputation as the ultimate bird nerd – as well as a fantastically engaging, imaginative, and inspiring writer – by taking us on a journey through a 12,000-year relationship with our feathered friends.
The book crosses centuries and cultures, taking in the Egyptian ibis and the great auk, Neolithic cave drawings (which include flamingoes!) to dodos, peregrine falcons, and nightjars. In this epic saga, we eat birds, hunt birds, kill birds; but also, we study them, paint them, and marvel at their songs, feathers, and aerial displays.
Birkhead skillfully interweaves his own encounters with, and studies into, birds, knitting together the personal and the more general with ease. Several plates of gorgeous colour images help bring the creatures that fly throughout this book to life, although the rich, evocative descriptions on their own are enough to do this. The stunning images, cover, and bird-covered endpapers do add a richness to the reading experience, however. Birds And Us is a truly breathtaking book.
Birds And Us, Tim Birkhead (Viking)
Price: £25. Info: here
words MAB JONES
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