How many children dream of flying? Of what it would be like to soar through the air like a bird? This beautiful book is the next best thing, giving readers insight into the lives of some very special birds. Each turn of the page introduces a new subject, and we learn about red-capped manakins dancing in the rainforests of South America, the long-legged godwit, which migrates from Alaska to New Zealand every year, and, closer to home, noisy long-tailed tits, woodpeckers and peregrine falcons. Full of information, it reads like an adventure story too as we discover more about the birds’ extraordinary lives and habits. Catherine Rayner is one of our best-known illustrators, a Kate Greenaway Medal winner, and captures perfectly the physical presence of her subjects in glorious illustrations that fill the pages. A book to open up children’s eyes to birds and the wonder of nature.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly? Or to live high in the tree tops? Or perhaps you've wondered what birds do when no one is looking?
Birds have some of the most extraordinary - and peculiar - behaviours on the planet. Ravens love PLAYING games. In winter, they sledge down snow-covered rooftops on their bellies, getting faster and faster. Partridges are SNEAKY and know just how to trick hungry foxes. And honeyguides are HELPFUL. They help humans to find the sweetest treat in the forest - honey. These are just some of the incredible stories you'll read in this book.
With fascinating factual detail and playful storytelling from ornithologist Tim Birkhead and vibrant, personality-filled illustrations from Cat Rayner, this book captures what it's really like to be a bird.
Tim Birkhead is a professor at the University of Sheffield where he teaches animal behaviour. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and his research has taken him all over the world in the quest to understand the lives of birds. He has written for the Independent, New Scientist, BBC Wildlife. Among his other books are Promiscuity, Great Auk Islands, The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Birds which won the McColvin medal, The Red Canary which won the Consul Cremer Prize, The Wisdom of Birds, Bird Sense and The Most Perfect Thing. He lives in Sheffield.
