• How are birds so good at flying and navigating?
• Why are birds so like mammals– and yet so very different?
• Did bir... read full description
• Why are birds so like mammals– and yet so very different?
• Did bir... read full description
reviews
Mar 18, 2009
Al
rated it: 
This is a rather wonderful summation of current knowledge regarding birds, beautifully written, with some rather lovely line drawings (for those of you expecting some nice colour photos bve warned: there are none...) and covering just about anything a lay person might want to know about the current state of knowledge regarding those amazing creatures we know as birds.
Admittedly, there is the occasional feeling that the book is providing one with too much information, but it appears to More...
Admittedly, there is the occasional feeling that the book is providing one with too much information, but it appears to More...
Sep 17, 2011
Robert
rated it:
A tour of what we know and what we are learning about birds. There is one chapter that surveys all of the birds of the world. It's a bit encylopedic and I skipped it. But the rest is engaging and packed full of detail, historical and otherwise.
One good example of these marvelous details, of the many that stuck with me, is his example of a cline -- a population, generally spread out geographically, that varies continuously from one end to the other with individuals successfully mating o More...
One good example of these marvelous details, of the many that stuck with me, is his example of a cline -- a population, generally spread out geographically, that varies continuously from one end to the other with individuals successfully mating o More...
Dec 07, 2010
Ceridwen
rated it: 
First off, I admit I haven't read most of this book, because I have a problem sticking with non-fiction from beginning to end, and hop around, like, um, a bird, while I read. I bought this for my Grandma Dory, because she loves birds. As far as I know, she's never kept one as a pet, but she's not the kind for that. She wasn't a farm girl, exactly, but growing up in a farming community makes her stance on pets pretty harsh. Animals stay out of the house; they belong in the barn, or in the wild. B
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(19 people liked it)
Jan 24, 2010
Brs36
rated it:
THE BIRD is really packed with information, quite a bit more than you'd find in some of the Sibley books, but with the humor and commentary that you don't find in a standard ornithology textbook. I especially enjoyed the sections on bird evolution (it's so clearly explained). Also, the author doesn't hesitate to show what ornithologists don't know about birds, which is actually quite a lot. In some parts (the sections on eating and mating, for instance) I think there was some information over
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Jul 06, 2010
David R.
rated it:
This is a surprisingly readable text in light of the high density of material. In spite of small flaws I would recommended book to bird enthusiasts at any level.
Dec 11, 2009
J. D.
rated it:
This is a fascinatng survey of current knowledge about birds. Tudge is an able ornithologist, a capable advocate for avains, and a fine, entertaining writer.
May 15, 2011
Patricia
rated it:
This book calls for a slow reading and then a rereading. It's packed with wide-ranging detail that takes some time to start to sink in. All that detail conveys wonder and delight, though, in author's personal, personable style. One of the most wonderful chapters explores how birds might think.
Mar 27, 2011
Billy
rated it:
What a wonderful book. Told with great love and affection for its subject, this is a story of the growth of scientific knowledge backed by the growth of the human heart and spirit.Through birds, Tudge helps us get a handle on all of life.
Sep 30, 2010
Tuck
rated it:
a MUST HAVE book for any birders, natural history readers, and science readers. Tudge is the best.
Feb 18, 2010
James
rated it:
Not a guide to birds, but an introduction and discussion of what birds are, including extensive glances back into the fossil record as well as assessments of current (often grim) bird habitats, populations, and prognoses.
Since the book deals with the fossil record, it also of necessity discusses the entire evolutionary development of bird phylogeny as currently understood. Tudge fearlessly leaps into the world of DNA phylogeny and highlights major portions of the current structure th More...
Since the book deals with the fossil record, it also of necessity discusses the entire evolutionary development of bird phylogeny as currently understood. Tudge fearlessly leaps into the world of DNA phylogeny and highlights major portions of the current structure th More...
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