Review by Choice Review
Despite the suggestion made by its subtitle, Birds and Us is not a comprehensive history of bird-watching since Neolithic times. Instead, it offers a series of sometimes touching cameo essays, each of which focuses on a particular stage or series of events in the progressively changing relationship between humans and birds. Through a sequence of 12 chapters, birds are portrayed first as objects of art and worship; then, in a utilitarian phase, as little more than a commodity for human use; and finally as objects of study with the birth of ornithology as a science. Birkhead (emer., Univ. of Sheffield) concentrates mostly on British ornithology, and recounts its gradual transformation from natural theology to a focus on mass collecting of specimens and eggs for museums, and finally to its current incarnation as a data-centered method for conserving bird species, most of which are currently in steep decline. Birkhead is at his best when recounting his personal experiences as a birder and scientist, but the entire book is well written and enjoyable. Numerous, unique black-and-white and full color illustrations are included, as well as extensive citations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --John L. Hunt, University of Arkansas--Monticello
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
A new book from ornithologist Birkhead (The Wonderful Mr Willughby, 2018) is always a cause for celebration, and this new title definitely does not disappoint. Melding Birkhead's two obsessions, birds and the history of science, the narrative chronicles the long relationship between humans and birds and how this relationship has changed through time. Beginning with a visit to a small cave in Spain, covered with hundreds of neolithic paintings of birds rendered so accurately that 150 of them have been identified as to species, Birkhead then turns to the fantastic renderings of birds found in Egyptian tombs. He moves on to look at the beginnings of science in ancient Greece (Aristotle loved birds) and Rome, the manly pursuit of hunting with falcons in the medieval world, and the gradual shift to learning about and understanding birds in the Renaissance. Finally we enter the age of Darwin, the ecological movement, and the rise of birdwatching. Also covered are Indigenous cultures' understandings of birds as well as advances in the study of bird behavior. Each and every section is enlivened with anecdotes from Birkhead's exceptional career, adding up to a beautifully illustrated survey of our fascination with birds that is hard to put down.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ornithologist Birkhead (Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird) delivers a master class in this fascinating look at humans' evolving relationship with birds, tracking over the course of 12 millennia as birds went from being the objects of art and veneration to sources of food and sport, and the current subject of study and conservation. In ancient Egypt, for example, four million Sacred Ibises were mummified, then found in the early 1800s: "bird mummies served four different purposes: preserving the birds as food, as pets for deceased humans, as gods to be revered and as votive offerings." Other sections delve into the medieval obsession with falconry, the study of birds' biology during a natural history boom in the Victorian era, and contemporary bird-dependent societies on the Faroe Islands. Portraits of key players in ornithology enrich the narrative, among them Edmund Selous, who near the end of the 19th century led the shift from killing birds for study to bird-watching as a serious intellectual pursuit, an activity that garnered empathy for the creatures. Birkhead clearly knows his terrain, and his writing is vivid and occasionally funny: "There's also the ammonia-rich aroma of sea-bird shit (which I love, by the way)." This is a must-read for nature lovers. (Aug.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Award-winning ornithologist Birkhead (The Most Perfect Thing: Inside [and Outside] a Bird's Egg) has written nearly a dozen books on birds. This title examines how humans have interacted with birds throughout history through the lens of artwork. Birkhead takes an engaging look at the art of birds from Paleolithic times to the present, looking at the ways humans have viewed birds as gods, food, commodities, adornment, inspiration for flight, and finally, as creatures to be protected (possibly encouraged by the popularity of bird-watching). Along the way, Birkhead introduces readers to an array of explorers, archeologists, conservationists, natural historians, and artists who have been inspired by birds and bird art. He also includes anecdotes from his own career in ornithology. VERDICT Includes a list of birds mentioned, extensive notes and bibliography, and an excellent index. An enjoyable book for those interested in birds or art.--Margaret Henderson
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A study of birds as inspiration, enlightenment, and food. Melding science, natural history, memoir, and travelogue, ornithologist Birkhead offers a commodious history of humans' connection to birds, from prehistoric times to the current burgeoning interest in bird-watching. He begins in southern Spain, where depictions of more than 200 birds were discovered in Neolithic caves. This "birthplace of bird study" raises the question of the artists' motivation: Do the images represent totemism, suggesting that birds were worshipped? Did the artists pay homage to birds prized for food? Did the images serve as a kind of field guide? In ancient Egypt, mummified birds were found in catacombs, preserved as food, pets for the deceased, or votive offerings. Birkhead examines early interest in investigating birds (by Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, for example); falconry as pastime, an "expensive, time-consuming" indulgence of aristocrats; and the medieval veneration of birds as "hovering midway between heaven and earth, half angels, half animals," which can be deduced from the appearance of birds in religious paintings. As prey--sometimes for food, sometimes for sport--bird populations often have been decimated. Tudor England fostered an "unthinking persecution of wildlife" that included birds seen as "vermin." In the late 1950s, Mao Zedong set off mass killings of sparrows, blamed for stealing grain. The 17th century saw a marked interest in scientific investigation, resulting in a proliferation of description, collection, and illustration of birds. Victorians paradoxically cherished birds, enjoying a vogue for caged songbirds but also for amassing specimens of birds, skins, and eggs. From acorn woodpeckers to zebra finches, Birkhead examines bird habitat, behavior, cultural meaning, and physiology in species around the world. He creates engaging portraits of the often eccentric individuals involved in bird investigations and reports on some exotic uses of birds for food--flamingos' fatty tongues, for example, roast peacock, and fattened herons. This beautifully produced volume is replete with drawings, photographs, maps, and vivid color plates. A fascinating, authoritative avian history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
