Easily my most eagerly anticipated book of the year; The Book of Birds written by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris follows on from their hugely successful The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. These are indeed special collaborations, this book, seven years in the making, embodies their shared love of birds and, for so many of them, a sense of loss as their numbers tumble.

The inspiration for this book is clear and indeed acknowledged by both authors. This follows brightly in the footsteps of those classic guides; Readers Digest Book of British Birds, Birds of Britain, The Observer’s Book of Birds and Book of Birds Eggs, Book of North American Birds and Collins Birds of the World. All of these books with their rich illustrations and descriptions engaged millions of readers to get out and observe birds and this book is a very welcome return to that sense of nostalgia.

Unlike those mentioned, Book of Birds is not a guide as such. It feels more natural than that, like going for a walk with someone who has spent their life observing birds, Macfarlane knows when to turn on the academic tap and when not, he writes beautifully and despite his scientific brain, old lore and legend is not lost on him and he guides us on how to spot birds the way a storyteller of years past would have us know.

Jackie Morris is for me, Britain’s best nature painter. For this book she created hundreds of paintings of birds, their feathers and their eggs. She gives us colour patches alongside a painting, an insight into how she achieves such brilliant, vibrant plumage. Many of them show a bird in flight with their glorious outstretched wings, these paintings have such an endearing quality to them, the birds feel alive and their beauty underpins the message behind the book- we must do better collectively to ensure these birds not only survive but thrive.

There are nature notes too, personal memories of Macfarlane’s involving specific breeds, the memory of which has never left him. From his grandfather’s wartime tales of migration to him owl watching with his new born daughter, how many of us have a significant memory of a bird? More that one might imagine, I suspect.

This is such a beautiful book, part memoir, part study, part rhyme. They managed to reach a new, much younger audience with their previous books and who knows what long term good will come of that. I suspect the same will be said for this.

Further reading:

The Old Ways

The Peregrine