Birds and Us : A 12,000-Year History From Cave Art to Conservation

**From award-winning author and ornithologist Tim Birkhead, a sweeping history of the long and close relationship between birds and humans** Since the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art, and philosophy. We have worshipped birds as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves with their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight, and, more recently, attempted to protect them. In __Birds and Us,__ award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on a dazzling epic journey through our mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to the Renaissance fascination with woodpecker anatomy—and from the Victorian obsession with egg collecting to today’s fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats. Spanning continents and millennia, __Birds and Us__ chronicles the beginnings of a written history of birds in ancient Greece and Rome, the obsession with falconry in the Middle Ages, and the development of ornithological science. Moving to the twentieth century, the book tells the story of the emergence of birdwatching and the field study of birds, and how they triggered an extraordinary flowering of knowledge and empathy for birds, eventually leading to today’s massive worldwide interest in birds—and the realization of the urgent need to save them. Weaving in stories from Birkhead’s life as scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is an unforgettable account of how birds have shaped us, and how we have shaped them.

From award-winning author and ornithologist TimBirkhead, a sweeping history of the long and close relationshipbetween birds and humans Since the dawn of human history,birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging ourideas about science, faith, art, and philosophy. We have worshippedbirds as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves withtheir feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight, and, morerecently, attempted to protect them. In Birds and Us,award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on adazzling epic journey through our mutual history with birds, fromthe ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to theRenaissance fascination with woodpecker anatomy-and from theVictorian obsession with egg collecting to today's fight to saveendangered species and restore their habitats. Spanning continentsand millennia, Birds and Us chronicles the beginnings of awritten history of birds in ancient Greece and Rome, the obsessionwith falconry in the Middle Ages, and the development ofornithological science. Moving to the twentieth century, the booktells the story of the emergence of birdwatching and the fieldstudy of birds, and how they triggered an extraordinary floweringof knowledge and empathy for birds, eventually leading to today'smassive worldwide interest in birds-and the realization of theurgent need to save them. Weaving in stories from Birkhead's lifeas scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithiccaves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the FaroeIslands, this rich and fascinating book is an unforgettable accountof how birds have shaped us, and how we have shaped them.

"Since the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art, and philosophy. We have worshipped birds as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves with their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight, and, more recently, attempted to protect them. In Birds and Us, award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on a dazzling epic journey through our mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to the Renaissance fascination with woodpecker anatomy--and from the Victorian obsession with egg collecting to today's fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats. Spanning continents and millennia, Birds and Us chronicles the beginnings of a written history of birds in ancient Greece and Rome, the obsession with falconry in the Middle Ages, and the development of ornithological science. Moving to the twentieth century, the book tells the story of the emergence of birdwatching and the field study of birds, and how they triggered an extraordinary flowering of knowledge and empathy for birds, eventually leading to today's massive worldwide interest in birds--and the realization of the urgent need to save them. Weaving in stories from Birkhead's life as scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is an unforgettable account of how birds have shaped us, and how we have shaped them."--Unedited summary from book "Since the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art and philosophy. Looking to the skies above, we have variously worshipped them as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves in their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight and, more recently, attempted to protect them. In Birds and Us, award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on an epic and dazzling journey through this mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to Renaissance experiments on woodpecker anatomy, from Victorian obsessions with egg collecting to the present fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats. Weaving in stories from his own life as a scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is the culmination of a lifetime's research and unforgettably shows how birds shaped us, and how we have shaped them"