These beautiful books on birds are sure to be enjoyed by those who love our feathered friends. There are garden Also see posts on:
- How to help our garden birds
- How to stop birds flying into windows
- A beginner’s guide to birds’ nests
- How to help our birds of prey
- How to help our urban birds
- Give seagulls back their natural home
Matt’s Book to Save Our Birds
Save Our Birds is a lovely book by popular pop-artist and ornithologist Matt Sewell. Matt has created new watercolour artworks of our most loved birds and their habitats, all on the Red List for endangered species. He provides lovely funny descriptions (hello handsome!) along with ways to protect them from extinction. Explore cities, coastlands, woodlands and farms, leaving no habitat unexplored around the British Isles.
The reason why 1 in 4 of our birds are endangered cannot be distilled down to any single factor. Their dwindling numbers are down to years of neglect, and an aggressive push to squeeze more money out of the land, rather than nurturing it. Imagine a garden without birds. Imagine a whole street empty of them. Actually, don’t. It’s far too horrible. Nobody wants to live without birds. Yet that’s where we could be leading, if we don’t change course.
Matt is a truly gifted writer, with a unique way to describe birds:
Embedded with dots, that look like a star map of the cosmos..
These woodland waders look like they would wheeze like tiny bagpipes
The colour of the summer sun, and buttercup chins.
The Blackbird Diaries
The Blackbird Diaries shares Karen Lloy’s deep-rooted knowledge for flora and fauna, and looks at the enchanting song, striking orange bill and endearing willness to share our living space, and how blackbirds play a critical role in our fragile and precious biodiversity. Over four seasons, she chronicles the drama of the natural world as it unfolds in her garden and in the limestone hills and valleys of Cumbria’s South Lakeland. At a time of critical species loss, she offers rare insights of animals that may be common, but are not less remarkable. Karen works at regional and local levels on the urgent need for curley restoration, our largest wading bird.
Birds: Explore Their Extraordinary World
Birds is a beautifully written guide by wildlife presenter Miranda, with beautiful art by Angela Hardin. From the bitter cold polar regions to the lush tropics, birds have found amazing ways to adapt and survive. Discover mighty peregrine falcons that circle skyscrapers, golden eagles that spot prey from miles away, and learn how an owl’s eyes can change colour as it hunts, and which birds are the fastest, smallest and most clever & colourful.
The Love Lives of Birds
The Love Lives of Birds looks at the lifelong devotion of the American crow to the dalliances of the eastern bluebird. And the bald eagle’s dazzling aerial display to the male ruby-throated hummingbird’s reputation as a ‘deadbeat dad!’ This lovely book by ornithologist Laura Erickson looks at courtship, mating and parenting in the bird world, which differs dramatically.
Male mallard ducks perform lots of dances including a ‘swimming shake’. They don’t mate for life, so up to 5 perform these dances to get the girl interested. However, unlike humans, she cannot roll her eyes!
Adélie penguins exchange rocks, to show they are interested in each other, and looking for a potential mate!
Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds
Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds is a lovely unique take on bird-spotting. If you thought that Bill was just the long-haired bearded comedian on QI, prepare to be surprised. This funny (obviously) and personal guide combines Bill’s passion for his favourite birds, along with drawings and notes by himself – a talented artist, to add a string to his bow. What’s nice is that he also roots for the ‘unloved birds’ like seagulls, saying that we can’t all be pretty songbirds in the garden, and you have to admire their brass neck to ‘nick a bit of scampi, as soon as look at you!’ And the wording is not ‘Collins Book of Birds!’:
When herons are spooked, they have a habit of vomiting as a defence. Half-digested pieces of eel and water vole skull on your head is not a good look. Just so you know.
This charming and informative book conveys a real love of the natural world, warts and all. And it’s handy to carry around, in a nice pocket size. You’ll find inside:
- A ‘British Birds’ checklist
- A list of the best birdwatching sites in the UK
- Suggestions of bird-spotting equipment
- Information on joining a birdwatching club
Bill takes us on a tour around the British Isles, zooming in on birds that enthuse him the most. You’ll learn what they eat, where they fly to and how they talk to each other. Ideal for children or adults, this book is packed with entertaining info, and will delight anyone who loves birds.
12 Birds to Save Your Life
12 Birds to Save Your Life is a book by Charlie Corbett who (after the loss of his mother) felt trapped by his pain. Having lost all hope and perspective, he took to the countryside in search or solace. There he heard the soaring cascading song of the skylark – a sound that pulled him from the depths of despair, and into the calm of the natural world. Weaving his journey through grief with a remarkable portrait of the birds living on our doorstep, this is an invitation to stop, step outside and listen.
The Atlas of Amazing Birds
The Atlas of Amazing Birds is another stunning book by Matt, celebrating winged creatures through joyful watercolours and told tales of habits and habitats. Some birds migrate thousands of miles, others display showy mating rituals and some survive in extreme environments. Others are fast, brave or big! Organised by continent, the book features maps of migratory pattersn, where our feathered friends live in all sorts of interesting places – in gardens, amidst waterways and along byways.
Britain’s Birds is a beautiful guide packed with natural history and literary appearances of over 70 birds. This charming guide makes the unique gift. Did you know that blackbirds were once white? Or that the number of times you hear a cuckoo, determines how many children you will have? Or that woodpeckers have special shock absorbers built into their beaks? Or that in 1958 – a puffin was blown inland, and knocked a man off his bicycle near Bromley? The book includes 40 custom illustrations, to help beginners identify the birds.
The Extraordinary World of Birds helps children journey through the skies to meet parrots, hummingbirds, eagles and more. Discovering the surprising homes, relationships and habitats of our feathered friends, and how we can protect the wonderful bird world. The perfect classroom read, the book includes detailed illustrations and photos of beaks, feathers, nests, eggs and habitats, fun and surprising facts and a glossary of bird terminology (and a full list of national birds). Children will meet game birds, flightless birds and perching birds, and learn how birds talk to each other, what they eat and how they are able to fly.
A Book to Make You Crazy for Birds!
Crazy for Birds by a US green builder (!) will sure to be one you and your family will turn to again and again. Not just educational, this is infectious and fun. From the Common Swift (which can stay in the air without landing for up to 10 months at a time while sleeping on the wing) to the tiny Goldcrest (Europe’s smallest bird, which can lay one-and-half times its body weight in eggs every season. With charming illustrations, Misha pays homage to the amazing birds that populate our skies in a delightful gift book to enchant everyone!
