This RSPB-endorsed book answers all those burning questions about birds that beginners and experts alike may ask themselves as they go about their birding.
How do ducks keep their feet from freezing in winter? Why don't swallows stay in Africa? Are birds really dinosaurs, or were dinosaurs really birds? And do birds have knees?
Taking a 'questions and answers' approach, each specific question leads to an answer which expands the theme under discussion, so that all aspects of bird life and the hobby of birding are covered. The scientifically rigorous answers together form an impressive and fascinating body of bird-related information. This highly readable book will intrigue anyone with an interest in birds.
Stephen Moss is a naturalist, author and TV producer. His TV credits include Springwatch, Birds Britannia, and Britain's Big Wildlife Revival, while his books include Wild Hares and Hummingbirds, A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching and Tweet of the Day. He has travelled to all seven continents to film and write about wildlife. Stephen is one of GB's leading nature writers with a monthly column in the Guardian. He also writes for the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and magazines including Birdwatch, BBC Wildlife and Countryfile.
"Crams thousands of little factoids that you never knew you never knew about our feathered friends."
– Sunday Express
"Concise and informative, in a chatty everyday style [...] a great book for dipping into."
– Birds magazine
"Covers not only "Everything" you might be afraid, for whatever murky psychological reasons, to ask about birds, but plenty that you probably wouldn't even think of asking."
– Birdwatch magazine
"Packed with hundreds of questions that anyone broadly interested in birds might ask, each one answered in an easy-to-understand manner. Excellent for anyone, new to birdwatching or not"
– BTO news
"There is something here for everyone, no matter what your level of bird knowledge. Pick up a copy, flick through it and dip into a question and you will be instantly educated and amused."
– Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust