Has anyone read Jeremy Mynott's Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience (published a couple of months ago by Princeton UP)? How does it compare with Mark Cocker's Birders: Tales of a Tribe? There's an interview with the author on ABC Radio National: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/saturdayextra/s... .

Chris, thanks for continually bringing such interesting books to our attention.

I couldn't find the audio on abc, but did find a podcast interview on the Princeton site (http://podularity.com/princeton-universi...). From the interview it sounds like the main focus is birds in myth and symbol. One thing that was very interesting is the author's discussion of anthropomorphic language in field guides. On the flip side, he coins the term "ornithomorphism," the use of bird words to describe human actions and emotions.

From the written description and the cover art, it sounds like the artwork in the book would be equally captivating. Hope to run across this some time in a bookstore. Not surprisingly, it is not available in the Central Illinois library network.

Hello Tracy! It looks as if ABC provide audio on their website for a limited time only, but I think perhaps the PUP podcast is the same audio interview. Yes, I picked up on the same point as you. I'll hope to check this book out in August when I get to the UK Bird Fair and will endeavour to post something here, unless you find a copy before I do! Thanks for the information!