Com és això de ser un ocell?

by Tim Birkhead, Catherine Rayner

Heb je je weleens voorgesteld hoe het zou zijn om te vliegen? Of om hoog in de bomen te leven? Misschien heb je je weleens afgevraagd wat vogels doen als niemand kijkt…
Vogels kunnen zich op heel bijzondere – en eigenaardige – manieren gedragen. Raven houden bijvoorbeeld van spelen. In de winter sleeën ze op hun buik over besneeuwde daken naar beneden, steeds sneller en sneller. Patrijzen zijn slim en weten precies hoe ze hongerige vossen moeten misleiden: de moeder doet alsof haar vleugel gebroken is en leidt de vos van haar jongen af… en gaat er dan op het laatste moment vandoor. En honingspeurders helpen mensen de zoetste traktatie in het bos te vinden: honing.
Dit zijn nog maar een paar van de ongelofelijke verhalen die je in dit boek vindt. Door de fascinerende feitjes en speelse verhalen van ornitholoog Tim Birkhead en levendige, karaktervolle illustraties van Catherine Rayner ontdek je hoe het voelt om een vogel te zijn.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Animals, Science

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Tim Birkhead is an award-winning author and one of the world’s leading bird biologists. He is the coauthor of Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology since Darwin (Princeton) and the author of The Wonderful Mr. Willughby: The First True Ornithologist, The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg, and Bird Sense: What It’s Like to Be a Bird, among other books. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Sheffield.

Reviews

[Grrlscientist · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love birds and feed them in your back garden or spend weekends wandering nearby wild spaces, with binoculars in your hands and camera at-the-ready, hanging from your shoulder, then you probably want your children or grandchildren to also enjoy and learn about them too. Tim Birkhead’s wonderful book, What It’s Like To Be A Bird (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021), is the perfect guide.

The 48-page book covers 20 bird species or sorts of birds, and appears to be targeted to younger readers, from 6–8 years old or possibly a little bit older. It is oversized, has a durable hard cover, and every page is filled with colorful paintings by artist Catherine Rayner.

Professor Birkhead, the author, is an ornithologist, a university professor and an award-winning writer, who my readers probably already know from one or more of the 16 other books he’s written about birds, many of which have won esteemed writing awards, or have been shortlisted or longlisted for others.

Throughout the book, Professor Birkhead shares fun bird facts that will impress his young readers — and their parents, too. For example, he tells us about the amazing ability of cave-dwelling oilbirds to find fruit at night and how the bird can identify which fruits are ripe despite the darkness. He also shares how tiny European robins find their migratory path from Britain to Africa twice per year by flying at night and finding their way using only their right eye, which acts as a mini-compass.

The illustrator, Catherine Rayner, is new to me (and new to Bloomsbury) but she’s already won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal, which was established in 1955 and is awarded annually to honor distinguished illustration in a children’s book. But Ms Rayner’s colorful paintings are so personable that I’d guess at least a few adults will buy a copy of this book just so they can pull it out and look at the art whenever they like.

Overall, this is a captivating children’s book that could ignite or nurture a growing passion for birds and for the natural world in children so of course, I highly recommend it for you and your family. However, I think this book would also be a great gift for a local public library, or school library, so other people’s children can also begin to learn about, and to love, birds.


NOTE: Originally published at Forbes.com on 4 September 2021.

[Els · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zo voelt het om een vogel te zijn. Tekst: Tim Birkhead. Illustraties: Catherine Rayner.

Oh, wat een mooi boek. Voor de schrijver en de illustrator is het hun eerste non-fictieboek voor kinderen en het is er ineens ‘boenk op’. Mooi, leerrijk en boeiend. Voor jong én oud.

Birkhead maakte een selectie van een twintigtal vogels die iets speciaals hebben, elk van hen krijgt een eigen verhaal. Ik heb best veel bijgeleerd al is dit niet het eerste boek over vogels dat ik lees. Ik had bijvoorbeeld nog nooit gehoord dat roodborstjes een kompas hebben in hun rechteroog! Of dat de flap waaronder papa keizerspinguïn het ei steekt geen veren heeft, alleen extra doorbloede blote huid.

En dat zijn dan nog de vogels waar we al het één en ander vanaf weten. Geloof me: de rest van de verhalen is super boeiend en fascinerend. De prachtige tekeningen van Rayner zijn én realistisch én van een poëtische schoonheid. Ontroerend mooi. Je wil ze uitscheuren en aan je muur hangen.

Zo voelt het om een vogel te zijn is indrukwekkend van formaat, inhoud en vorm: fan!

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic example of non-fiction aimed at children, What it’s Like to be a Bird is written by renowned ornithologist and Professor of Zoology, Tim Birkhead and illustrated by CILIP Greenaway Medal-winning artist Catherine Rayner. The combination of real science presented in colourful, eye-catching large format is as engaging as it is educational. The cover gives a clear example of the delightful illustrations, brimming with personality, to be found within, and every detail of this book from its size, hardcover and beautiful endpapers painted with speckled bird’s eggs speaks to its quality.

After an introduction which taps into the desire to fly that most of us have experienced at some time, each double page focuses on one aspect of bird behaviour as illustrated by a particular species. After initially pointing out that there are some similarities between birds and humans, the rest of the book highlights the diversity to be found in the class of birds and the range of adaptations displayed by birds which have enabled them to inhabit all the continents of the globe. The spreads are fully illustrated in Catherine Rayner’s sumptuous muted watercolours, with the text arranged in paragraphs blended with playful font effects.

As each bird is examined, its extraordinary skills and behavioural patterns are recounted in story-like prose which is easily understandable but does not talk down to young readers. Scientific vocabulary is used and explained precisely. The sections have titles that might be found in a chapter book; The Hunter Who Listens, Falling from the Skies and Sledging for Beginners are some examples. The book is therefore equally suited to being read aloud by an adult to share with children, or read and understood independently by Key Stage 2 or even advanced Key Stage 1 readers. Within the pages you will learn which bird has the most light-sensitive eyes of any animal species; which bird loses half of its body weight whilst waiting for its egg to hatch and which bird flies non-stop for eight days on its migratory journey between Alaska and New Zealand. Tim Birkhead shares his expertise with a light touch, comparing the incredible skills exhibited by the birds with everyday objects and phenomena with which children can easily relate. In my opinion, this is a marvellous gift to present to children; first rate information in a format that they can easily comprehend.

[beckys_book_blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for all bird loving children (and adults) out there. It is full of interesting facts about birds from all over the world. I loved reading about the red-caped manakin from South and Central America and the honeyguide bird from Africa who can detect a bees' nest and gives a special whistle which the local people recognise. It would be useful to have an atlas or a globe handy whilst reading this with children to see where all the amazing birds originate. The illustrations in the book are stunning, making this book a beautiful gift. This would also be a great addition to a Primary classroom for children to dip into or to reinforce a topic on birds.

[Kate Keaveny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book, but with far more information than I expected. This is a great book to dip in and out of, giving you weird and wonderful facts. Whilst I have a review copy through @netgalley this is going to be a book that you need a physical copy of to really appreciate it. The illustrations are wonderful, I love Catherine Rayner’s style, which along with the wealth of information makes this book an essential for the library in school and bookshelf at home.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. No doubt. Gorgeous, vibrant illustrations. And it's full of fascinating information. Go ahead and google woodpecker tongue! Mind blowing... Ha ha.

My problem with the book is the title. It should be something more like- Amazing Stuff That Birds Can Do, or Wow, Birds. Who Knew? It doesn't unfortunately tell us what it's like to be a bird.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful non-fiction text with very much the feel of a fiction book. Stunningly illustrated by Catherine Rayner with descriptions of fascinating facts about each bird. The vocabulary is adventurous and doesn't shy away from scientific language that I think children will thoroughly enjoy.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming, beautifully illustrated children’s book that contains a description of one characteristic that distinguishes each species of bird mentioned in the book. These anecdotes are designed to convey the wonder of birds, and the mysteries surrounding them.