Birds and Us: A 12,000-Year History from Cave Art to Conservation

What a delightful read! This bird nerd was enchanted from the opening chapter describing a visit to a shallow cave in Spain, the walls adorned with hundreds of birds - silhouettes in ochre and yellow skillful enough to be identified as to species, from 8000 years ago. Birkhead starts there, and takes us on a varied and wide-ranging trip through millennia, continents (largely Eurocentric, but with attention to areas of the New World and northern Africa), the arts, and the studies of a number of bird-obsessed people, to illustrate how birds and people have affected each other. He is an expert and genial host, weaving his own passion and experiences with birds (the man cheerfully admits he loves the smell of seabird shit - his words) in show more with tales of Darwin, medieval falconry and cookery, princely Egyptian hunting, resplendent South American costume, egg collectors, artists, ornithologists, and conservationists. He is attentive to ethical issues - the effects of the Europeans on indigenous people, Faroese whale hunting, wholesale bird killing for the sake of study skins, and human disruption of habitat and climate change. As a young student, he almost went to art school, and his appreciation for the artistic aspect of birds as subjects is lovely, though I was disappointed that he didn't mention my all-time favorite bird artist: the brilliant Edward Lear... yes, that Edward Lear of the owl and the pussycat and "There once was a man with a beard...," whose paintings of parrots take your breath away. (see The Natural History of Edward Lear) I was also pleased to find a kindred soul who openly admires Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

A wonderful read - highly recommended. And boy, would I love to go birding with him.

EDITED TO ADD: Because I liked this book so much, I googled up Birkhead's email and sent him an effusive fan message. This morning I got a lovely, warm reply, thanking me and answering several of my questions and comments. I love when that happens! I'm adding a star just for that. show less