The Bird Way

A SUNDAY TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR It's flight and egg and feathers and song. It's the demure plumage of a mountain thornbill and the extravagant tail feathers of an Indian paradise flycatcher, the solo song of a superb lyrebird and the perfectly timed duets of canebrake wrens, an osprey's hurtling dive toward the sea, and a long-legged heron's still, patient eyeing of the dark water. There is no single bird way of being. Drawing on personal observations, the latest science, and her bird-related travel around the world, Jennifer Ackerman playfully explores our dramatically shifting understanding of these magnificent animals. **'Jennifer Ackerman knows what she's talking about...Her knack for catching the personalities of different species in gorgeous, playful prose further collapses comfortable barriers between the human and the birdlike' Daily Telegraph 'The real joy of [this] book is its close attention to some of the specialists of the region... Ackerman is alive to the humour at play in field research ' Mark Cocker, Spectator** Chapter by meatily evidence-based chapter, she lays out the assumptions that underpin our understanding of birds - and then pecks them apart . . . Her knack for catching the personalities of different species in gorgeous, playful prose further collapses comfortable barriers between the human and the birdlike . . . More than it is a book about birds - and it is, indisputably, a book about birds - The Bird Way is about diversity and tolerance. A little bird told me that's just what we need in 2020' Daily Telegraph, ***** (Five Stars) 'Jennifer Ackerman is not a field researcher, but with her eye for a great story she converts the scientific findings of others into popular books. The real joy of her book is its close attention to some of the specialists of the region . . . Ackerman is also alive to the humour at play in field research' Mark Cocker, The Spectator