The Birds Are Our Friends

About this book

For many, birds represent freedom and spirituality since they are created to be free. Although this may be true for people as well, we are of course not able to be as truly free as our winged friends.

Looking out of his office window and seeing the birds flying, emphasizing his confinement indoors and the unnecessary complexities of life in general, the author, a Kazakh poet and writer, regrets his lost freedom.  Life tends to be over-complicated and many would advocate following a simpler life. Birds, on the other hand, live the life they are destined for and this book shows how a common love of birds bridges cultures and distance.

The Birds Are Our Friends is a wonderful and enlightening collection of essential information, curiosities, myths and folklore of birds and people. The author has discovered the role that birds play in people’s imagination, and their significance for various cultures. People’s accounts of birds give an insight to themselves – what they strive for, what they are afraid of and what they find important.

Some birds predict the weather and construct unbelievably sophisticated nests or engage in elegant mating rituals. The author provides new insights on these facts and myths which confound some widely-held assumptions of their activities.

Yessengali has a deeply personal connection and relationship with some birds. His fondest memories from childhood or young adulthood are associated with cuckoos, storks, and other birds that remind him of love and friendship. He hopes that these stories will interest readers, remind them of their spirituality and also evoke fine memories. In any event, it is a book that illuminates the world of birds from a slightly different viewpoint.

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