"The Book of Birds" | Reviewed by Bill Schwab

"A great thinning of the skies is underway. There are three billion fewer birds in North America than half a century ago." With this chilling observation, nature writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris introduce an imaginative, vividly illustrated collection of lyrical narratives and paintings about endangered birds. "Instead of photographs—paint. Alongside data—metaphor, story, poetry. In place of definition—relation. As well as classification—something like love."

Subtitled "A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss," the book is both a tribute to the natural world’s wonders and a memorial to bird species that are declining or already extinct. The 49 birds featured appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, the leading source on the global conservation status of plants, fungi, and animals. Worldwide, about half of all bird species are in decline.

“The Book of Birds” is structured around what the author terms the "seven wonders" of the bird: Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight, and Migration. These are the chapter headings of the book, in this order. Each bird is described in a page or two of poetic narrative, followed by a graceful watercolor painting that spans one or two pages.  "Dawns and springs are quieter; the air emptier. An ancient avian orchestra is falling silent."

MacFarlane's incantatory essays, with Morris' detailed paintings of each species, portray the "slow slide toward the absolute dark of extinction" of billions of birds. The authors’ exceptional work is presented in a way that helps the reader identify with the threatened birds, evoking a reflective mood about those that risk being forgotten.

The naturalist skillfully balances his scientific knowledge with folklore and legend. The illustrator uses her superb skills to make the birds appear in flight. Together, they present a valuable, enduring record of Earth's threatened birds of the 21st century. Further, they call for readers to act.

As it draws to a close, the extensive 7-year project provides a glimmer of hope. Macfarlane writes, "Knowledge may lead to wonder, wonder to care, care to action, action to change. But this is a fragile chain, easily broken--its link must be reforged and rejoined, over and over again."

Bird lovers and others who care about Earth's ecology will be saddened by this elegy to birds but inspired by its call to address the rapid decline of avian species. Macfarlane and Morris have created a special book.

This beautifully written and elegantly illustrated book includes a thorough index, illustrations, and “Bird Tables” showing the shapes and colors of the birds' eggs, the birds' common and scientific names, and their lifespans.

About the authors: Robert MacFarlane's best-selling books include "Is a River Alive?" and "Underland." His works have been translated into more than thirty languages and have won many prizes. His most notable honors include Canada's Weston International Award, which honors global excellence in nonfiction writing, and the United States' Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing. Macfarlane is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Jackie Morris has illustrated for magazines and books, and designed cards and calendars for Greenpeace and Amnesty International. She has won the Kate Greenaway Medal for excellence in illustration for a children's book published in the United Kingdom, as well as the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year.

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