The Bird of Light

by John Hay

Describes the characteristics and behavior of terns, compares and contrasts them with humans, and discusses our coexistence with the natural world

Genres: Nature, Birds

158 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1991

About the author

John Hay (August 31, 1915, Ipswich, Massachusetts – February 26, 2011, Bremen, Maine was an American author, naturalist, and conservation activist. Hay co-founded the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster, Massachusetts and served as its president from 1955 to 1980. He composed 18 books from his "writing shack" on Dry Hill at his home in Brewster, Massachusetts, including two autobiographies, A beginner's faith in things unseen (1995) and Mind the Gap: The Education of a Nature Writer. (2004).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ha...

Reviews

[mary]

john hay surely has a knack for understanding bird migration and the how the birds learn by a sense so strong to continue the migration trail year after year and know when weather may change and how that effects the migration, he is gentle in his explanation and has studied the tern extensively

[John]

Beautiful and visionary little book about terns, and their wisdom versus our narrow, exploitative civilization. This and other bird reading has got me looking up into the trees and onto the shorewaters with a tad more curiousity and understanding. I've also had about 6 "bird dreams" in the past two weeks, all with different very exotic bird species.