The Wonder of Birds

By Jim Robbins Black Inc £14.99

This impressively wide-ranging book is the work of a renowned American journalist and author. A clue to its focus is in its subtitle ‘What they tell us about ourselves, the world and a better future’, though it also includes much about the birds themselves. Drawing on both history and the latest research, and worldwide in scope, it explains why birds are so compelling, the many ways in which they help us, what lessons they can teach us and why we should strive to protect them for posterity – and for their own sake. Jonathan Elphick Ornithologist