HOW TO READ A BIRD

'A Smart Guide to What Birds Do and Why' is the sub-title of a book which draws on classic examples and the latest research to offer a close-up look at the many ways birds conduct themselves in the wild. Birds are intelligent, sociable creatures that exhibit a wide range of behaviours from mobbing and mimicking to mating and joint nesting. Using examples from species around the world the book presents engaging vignettes about the private life of birds, all explained in an evolutionary context. Discover how birds find food, rely on foraging techniques, tools and thievery, learn about courtship rituals and how they compete for, woo and win mates, familial conflicts that crop up between parents, offspring and siblings, and the stresses of nesting, territory defence, nepotism and relationship sabotage. See how birds respond to threats and danger through such unique practices as murmurations, specific alarm calls, distraction displays and anti-predator nest design. We also read about preening, migration, breeding and huddling - based on climate. We also learn how birds differ in personality, and how big data and citizen scientists are helping to add to what we know about birds. Glossy white paper and hundreds of beautiful colour illustrations of our feathered friends and all their colourful plumage plus fact boxes and extended captions. Large softback, 224pp, colour.