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