Many BB readers will be familiar with the writings of Tim Birkhead, including his Bernard Tucker Memorial Lecture ‘What it’s like to be a bird’ (Brit. Birds 107: 207–219). This children’s title of the same name is an altogether lighter take on the subject. Accompanied by charming illustrations by Catherine Rayner, it discusses two dozen of the most extraordinary and peculiar behaviours shown by birds, from partridges feigning injury to albatrosses flying for weeks without landing.
An ideal gift for a youngster with an interest in the natural world, this book, I’m quite sure, would have been one of eight-year-old me’s favourites.
Stephen Menzie