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The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss
From the best-selling authors of The Lost Words, a dazzling celebration of endangered birds.
The Book of Birds is a field guide with a difference: It shows readers not just how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. In lyrical and incantatory essays, Macfarlane describes each bird’s habits and habitats, their patterns of flight and patterns of song, how they hunt or fish or scavenge or gather, how they nest and raise their chicks, the myths that attend them, the threats that shadow them—and how their lives intersect with our own. On every page we encounter Morris’s exhilarating artwork, painted from life in watercolor and gold leaf, and animated with an extraordinary attention to detail. The Book of Birds is a love letter to the thrilling variety and mysteries of birdlife, and a clarion call to halt the rapid depletion of our skies.
The Book of Birds is a field guide with a difference: It shows readers not just how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. In lyrical and incantatory essays, Macfarlane describes each bird’s habits and habitats, their patterns of flight and patterns of song, how they hunt or fish or scavenge or gather, how they nest and raise their chicks, the myths that attend them, the threats that shadow them—and how their lives intersect with our own. On every page we encounter Morris’s exhilarating artwork, painted from life in watercolor and gold leaf, and animated with an extraordinary attention to detail. The Book of Birds is a love letter to the thrilling variety and mysteries of birdlife, and a clarion call to halt the rapid depletion of our skies.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2026
About the author
Robert Macfarlane
120 books4,821 followersRobert Macfarlane is a British nature writer and literary critic.
Educated at Nottingham High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge.
Robert Macfarlane is the author of prize-winning and bestselling books about landscape, nature, people and place, including Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination (2003), The Wild Places (2007), The Old Ways (2012), Holloway (2013, with Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards), Landmarks (2015), The Lost Words: A Spell Book (with the artist Jackie Morris, 2017) and Underland: A Deep Time Journey (2019). His work has been translated into many languages, won prizes around the world, and his books have been widely adapted for film, television, stage and radio. He has collaborated with artists, film-makers, actors, photographers and musicians, including Hauschka, Willem Dafoe, Karine Polwart and Stanley Donwood. In 2017 he was awarded the EM Forster Prize for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Educated at Nottingham High School, Pembroke College, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, he is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and teaches in the Faculty of English at Cambridge.
Robert Macfarlane is the author of prize-winning and bestselling books about landscape, nature, people and place, including Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination (2003), The Wild Places (2007), The Old Ways (2012), Holloway (2013, with Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards), Landmarks (2015), The Lost Words: A Spell Book (with the artist Jackie Morris, 2017) and Underland: A Deep Time Journey (2019). His work has been translated into many languages, won prizes around the world, and his books have been widely adapted for film, television, stage and radio. He has collaborated with artists, film-makers, actors, photographers and musicians, including Hauschka, Willem Dafoe, Karine Polwart and Stanley Donwood. In 2017 he was awarded the EM Forster Prize for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
June 21, 2026
Well, I must admit that with regard to Robert Macfarlane's text and Jackie Morris' artwork for their May 2026 The Book of Birds, I indeed am somewhat and in fact if truth be told more than somewhat conflicted, that I am therefore vacillating between intense reading joy and a frustration that is sometimes even bordering on massive annoyance (and that my average rating of three stars for The Book of Birds is as such and in my humble opinion thus also totally justified and is equally so rather generous on my part).
Yes, Jackie Morris’s meticulously detailed (but also not ever pedantic and visually overly tight) avian paintings for The Book of Birds are with regard to her artistry and her glowingly realistic yet also visually emotional expressiveness absolutely, totally aesthetically spectacular, and that how Morris uses watercolour and gold leaf to bring the featured birds of The Book of Birds gloriously to life, this really and truly does make ALL of the illustrations for The Book of Birds magical and delightful. However, and this having been said, even though I obviously totally visually speaking adore Jackie Morris' exquisite artwork in and for The Book of Birds, sorry, but I also do rather hugely miss there not being any photographs at all of the showcased birds (and that for me, for every species showcased in The Book of Birds, there should be both Morris' illustrations and also at least one accompanying photographic image featured as well, and that while the total absence of avian photographs in and throughout The Book of Birds is not in any way something major, something hugely, massively problematic, this still is at least in my humble opinion somewhat of a visual shortcoming for The Book of Birds).
Now with regard to Robert Macfarlane's text in The Book of Birds, both his writing style and his featured, his presented bird-themed contents are delightfully lyrical and how rather than just teaching avian facts Macfarlane throughout The Book of Birds wonderfully and feelingly asks his readers not just to physically identify forty-nine British birds (and just to point out that not all of these these species occur only in the UK either) but to also and emotionally speaking identify WITH birds, exploring their myths, habitats, nests, songs etc., and with The Book of Birds through this also carrying an important conservation message, mourning the loss (the horrible thinning out) of bird populations while the same time also encouraging readers to love nature enough to protect it. But yes, I do kind of wonder why Robert Macfarlane would in The Book of Birds consider both house sparrows and starlings as being possibly vulnerable, since they are so so numerous worldwide (although maybe Macfarlane is not barking up the wrong proverbial tree here either, since the passenger pigeon was actually in the 19th century considered one of the most abundant species of birds in North America and was sadly extinct by 1914).
But as much as I have massively enjoyed the lyricism of The Book of Birds and equally so hugely appreciate (as well absolutely agree with) the strong conservation message Robert Macfarlane textually shows, there are also some parts of The Book of Birds that tend to make me rather internally growl with frustration and even some minor but still important and necessary anger (not all-encompassingly so, but still, I am most definitely rather annoyed and do stand by my above mentioned three star rating). For one, The Book of Birds is in my opinion rather misleading as a title, since it kind of (and wrongly) assumes that considerably more than forty-nine bird species will be textually covered by Macfarlane and visually accompanied by Jackie Morris (and that I ordered the book because The Book of Birds to me seemed to claim and to indicate a much broader avian scope). For two, The Book of Birds is such a large and such a heavy tome that due to its massive size and lack of portability (and actually also because of its poetic style) The Book of Birds is for me and in my humble opinion not really a bona fide field guide and is of course thus also not really all that useful for actual birdwatching either (for going out into nature book in hand and observing, recoding birds) and that since in The Book of Birds Robert Macfarlane also replaces traditional photographic or rigidly diagrammed identification charts with metaphor, poetry, and with Jackie Morris/ watercolours, this for and to me also makes The Book of Birds pretty much impractical for actual bird identification (and this both while out and about and also at home, inside so to speak, not something massively problematic to be sure, but I do find this quite bothersome since The Book of Birds is also labelled as being a field guide by Macfarlane even though it clearly is not a field guide). And finally, for three (and probably also the main reason why my rating for The Book of Birds is not four but only three stars) sorry, but I absolutely and totally, I massively (and all-encompassingly) despise how majorly unorganised and therefore equally so how ridiculously and horridly user-unfriendly Robert Macfarlane's bibliography for The Book of Birds is and that I for one consider how he is showing his primary and his secondary sources as completely eliminating and destroying any and all supplemental research value of and for The Book of Birds.
Yes, Jackie Morris’s meticulously detailed (but also not ever pedantic and visually overly tight) avian paintings for The Book of Birds are with regard to her artistry and her glowingly realistic yet also visually emotional expressiveness absolutely, totally aesthetically spectacular, and that how Morris uses watercolour and gold leaf to bring the featured birds of The Book of Birds gloriously to life, this really and truly does make ALL of the illustrations for The Book of Birds magical and delightful. However, and this having been said, even though I obviously totally visually speaking adore Jackie Morris' exquisite artwork in and for The Book of Birds, sorry, but I also do rather hugely miss there not being any photographs at all of the showcased birds (and that for me, for every species showcased in The Book of Birds, there should be both Morris' illustrations and also at least one accompanying photographic image featured as well, and that while the total absence of avian photographs in and throughout The Book of Birds is not in any way something major, something hugely, massively problematic, this still is at least in my humble opinion somewhat of a visual shortcoming for The Book of Birds).
Now with regard to Robert Macfarlane's text in The Book of Birds, both his writing style and his featured, his presented bird-themed contents are delightfully lyrical and how rather than just teaching avian facts Macfarlane throughout The Book of Birds wonderfully and feelingly asks his readers not just to physically identify forty-nine British birds (and just to point out that not all of these these species occur only in the UK either) but to also and emotionally speaking identify WITH birds, exploring their myths, habitats, nests, songs etc., and with The Book of Birds through this also carrying an important conservation message, mourning the loss (the horrible thinning out) of bird populations while the same time also encouraging readers to love nature enough to protect it. But yes, I do kind of wonder why Robert Macfarlane would in The Book of Birds consider both house sparrows and starlings as being possibly vulnerable, since they are so so numerous worldwide (although maybe Macfarlane is not barking up the wrong proverbial tree here either, since the passenger pigeon was actually in the 19th century considered one of the most abundant species of birds in North America and was sadly extinct by 1914).
But as much as I have massively enjoyed the lyricism of The Book of Birds and equally so hugely appreciate (as well absolutely agree with) the strong conservation message Robert Macfarlane textually shows, there are also some parts of The Book of Birds that tend to make me rather internally growl with frustration and even some minor but still important and necessary anger (not all-encompassingly so, but still, I am most definitely rather annoyed and do stand by my above mentioned three star rating). For one, The Book of Birds is in my opinion rather misleading as a title, since it kind of (and wrongly) assumes that considerably more than forty-nine bird species will be textually covered by Macfarlane and visually accompanied by Jackie Morris (and that I ordered the book because The Book of Birds to me seemed to claim and to indicate a much broader avian scope). For two, The Book of Birds is such a large and such a heavy tome that due to its massive size and lack of portability (and actually also because of its poetic style) The Book of Birds is for me and in my humble opinion not really a bona fide field guide and is of course thus also not really all that useful for actual birdwatching either (for going out into nature book in hand and observing, recoding birds) and that since in The Book of Birds Robert Macfarlane also replaces traditional photographic or rigidly diagrammed identification charts with metaphor, poetry, and with Jackie Morris/ watercolours, this for and to me also makes The Book of Birds pretty much impractical for actual bird identification (and this both while out and about and also at home, inside so to speak, not something massively problematic to be sure, but I do find this quite bothersome since The Book of Birds is also labelled as being a field guide by Macfarlane even though it clearly is not a field guide). And finally, for three (and probably also the main reason why my rating for The Book of Birds is not four but only three stars) sorry, but I absolutely and totally, I massively (and all-encompassingly) despise how majorly unorganised and therefore equally so how ridiculously and horridly user-unfriendly Robert Macfarlane's bibliography for The Book of Birds is and that I for one consider how he is showing his primary and his secondary sources as completely eliminating and destroying any and all supplemental research value of and for The Book of Birds.
June 10, 2026
If The Lost Words was the size of a processional gospel and The Lost Spells reminded me of a pocket psalter, The Book of Birds has the heft of a study Bible, complete with charts in the back. The sheer yet costly abundance of the project seems to be a tribute of love to the abundance of bird life, an abundance which feels taken for granted as it fades. Macfarlane’s writing is terrific throughout, a prose which is filled with internal rhymes. He said that he tried to match the rhythm of each entry with the bird itself, and that verbal dexterity pays off. This is a book which teaches us to contemplate.
June 9, 2026
If I have never gifted you a Robert Macfarlane book, do I really love you or have you never invited me to your birthday party? Another gem from Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, the team who previously gave us The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, two books I devoured physically because those illustrations are truly emotive, and audibly because all three books have impeccable production. You truly, truly need both physical and audio copies. The Book of Birds gives us actual bird songs. And again, the illustrations are fantastic. These books are deeply spiritual in a way I don't know how to explain. It is the way nature feels truly seen. The noticing feels deep and a bit witchy - in the best way possible. A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss is such a great and telling subtitle. There is awe and grief and hope. If you are following along on my solarpunk reading journey this summer, this is a must read. And for everyone else, it is a gift you give yourself. Thank you to everyone involved and NetGalley for the audioARC. Will I be adding this to my Macfarlane library? Absolutely.
June 26, 2026
The Book of Birds is everything that we bird-y folk love: Information. Illustrations. Beauty. Cleverness. Wonder. And, of course, birds.
It's a book of birds, told in magnificent poetry-prose, depicted with magnificent illustrations.
It's a field guide organized by the most amazing wonders of birds: their nests, their eggs, their beaks, their songs, their feathers, their flights, and their migrations. The book highlights fifty bird species that were once common and are now less so.
If you are already in love with birds, you will come away from this book feeling obsessed with birds.
I lingered over this book for three months. I did not want to get to the end.
It's a book of birds, told in magnificent poetry-prose, depicted with magnificent illustrations.
It's a field guide organized by the most amazing wonders of birds: their nests, their eggs, their beaks, their songs, their feathers, their flights, and their migrations. The book highlights fifty bird species that were once common and are now less so.
If you are already in love with birds, you will come away from this book feeling obsessed with birds.
I lingered over this book for three months. I did not want to get to the end.
June 5, 2026
I'm overwhelmed with the beauty of this book. The perfect combination of words and art bringing to life some of the birds we have nearly lost. A book to return to again and again.
July 3, 2026
What an amazing book! This book is meant to be read out loud. Het language is beautiful and the illustrations are gorgeous.
July 6, 2026
An intensely gorgeous and enjoyable book. If you are ornithologically-inclined or maybe just bird curious, read it now as this fabulous volume aims to motivate a kinship with birds, not just a knowledge of them. Gorgeous watercolors that capture the spirit of each bird from Jackie Morris. Macfarlane never fails to engender a playful amusement or earnest compassion towards his subjects. Loved it.
June 9, 2026
“We will not save what we do not love, and we rarely love what we cannot name.” This is gorgeously written and illustrated field guide of sorts that not only gives information about birds but tells the story, but gives a deeper awareness of the birds that are slowly slipping towards extinction. This helps us name, love and hopefully save these birds. Flip this book open and be pulled into the poetry and magic flying all around us.
June 30, 2026
I think this book is best appreciated in a multimodal format. First, the illustrations in this book are stunning. The watercolor images on each page demonstrate birds in various ways, and the two page spreads directly following each bird are begging to be made into posters that I can hang in my house. The audiobook features the calls of each bird, along with sounds from their natural environment, including, oceans and forests, which I loved as a production choice.
The writing itself was poetic, mixing biological descriptions with personal stories, prose, and poetry. Some of the poetic and experimental elements didn’t hit for me, but I appreciated the effort nonetheless.
The writing itself was poetic, mixing biological descriptions with personal stories, prose, and poetry. Some of the poetic and experimental elements didn’t hit for me, but I appreciated the effort nonetheless.
July 6, 2026
Geweldig boek voor vogelliefhebbers die al wat vogelkennis hebben. Een heel andere invalshoek dan andere vogelboeken. Interessante informatie op vaal verrassend gebied in lyrische taal. De illustraties zijn ook prachtig! Ik heb er van genoten.
June 11, 2026
What a beauty ❤️
June 30, 2026
The audiobook is beautiful!!
June 27, 2026
Gorgeous illustrations and prose about birds!
May 31, 2026
Wow, this is an incredible book full to bursting of WONDER. Brilliant.
It contains some of the best poetry I’ve ever encountered! The words and rhymes are delightful, but it also captures the personality of the bird described.
I loved listening to the audiobook because hearing an author read his work, is wonderful and each poem has the bird calls/songs of the bird the poem is about. But to see the artwork of each bird, would be incredible too. I’d recommend finding a copy of the book and the audiobook.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook. It was a special gift.
It contains some of the best poetry I’ve ever encountered! The words and rhymes are delightful, but it also captures the personality of the bird described.
I loved listening to the audiobook because hearing an author read his work, is wonderful and each poem has the bird calls/songs of the bird the poem is about. But to see the artwork of each bird, would be incredible too. I’d recommend finding a copy of the book and the audiobook.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook. It was a special gift.
April 18, 2026
For my fellow bird and nature lovers, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris created a beautiful field guide that asks not “what” but “who is that bird?”
It begins:
“There are seven wonders of Bird.”
What follows are 49 bird species, each with a short description and multiple paintings depicting their habits and habitats, how their lives intersect with ours, and how they are threatened my our modern world. Macfarlane poetically provides data, but also shares stories and folklore to help readers not just identify birds but to identify with the birds. His words are as much of a painting as Morris’ actual paintings of birds nesting, in flight, and more (the tawny owl!!).
The Book of Birds is exquisite, written as a love letter to nature. It reminded me of The Language of Trees, injecting a sense of wonder into my day every time I picked it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the eARC!
It begins:
“There are seven wonders of Bird.”
What follows are 49 bird species, each with a short description and multiple paintings depicting their habits and habitats, how their lives intersect with ours, and how they are threatened my our modern world. Macfarlane poetically provides data, but also shares stories and folklore to help readers not just identify birds but to identify with the birds. His words are as much of a painting as Morris’ actual paintings of birds nesting, in flight, and more (the tawny owl!!).
The Book of Birds is exquisite, written as a love letter to nature. It reminded me of The Language of Trees, injecting a sense of wonder into my day every time I picked it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the eARC!
July 17, 2026
The fleurons at the top of each chapter feature the egg of the bird being discussed -- beautiful!
Review of advance copy
”The Book of Birds” is an enjoyable journey into the biodiversity of England. In this book which is about 320 pages there are 49 birds, some of them have been extincted and others are under threaten, it includes pictures of the birds which have been drawned by illustrator Jackie Morris and dr. Robert Macfarlane who is an academian at University of Cambridge has written the genus and species of birds and other essays. This book is useful if anny reader wants to recognise these 49 birds who as we said above are living in England. I decided to buy dr. Macfarlane’s book because a year ago I read ”Is a River alive?” , a book has written by him and I like it a lot.
Some of these birds are living in Arctic or in Atlantic Ocean or Ireland and they love to live there. However, sometimes the climate is changing for instance when the weather in Arctic become colder in winter, then some birds migrate in another countries where is much hotter in order to make their nests and give birth to their eggs. Other birds prefer to live near the city and eat the food which humans throw in the baskets. For example in London of England. And other birds live into the forest and in case of a human is living for a night in the forest the noise these birds make is frightening. The reasons that these birds are being threaten with extincted are: a) maybe is hunter period, which that is something legal in West Europe or b) some people try to take advantage of the meat of birds which is very tasteful for them.
Generally ”The Book of Birds” by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane make the reader who is going to read the book, to understand how important these species are for biodiversity of England and can help the reader to recognise any of these birds if finds them in nature. The work of this book by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane is great. So i suggest you to read the book.
Some of these birds are living in Arctic or in Atlantic Ocean or Ireland and they love to live there. However, sometimes the climate is changing for instance when the weather in Arctic become colder in winter, then some birds migrate in another countries where is much hotter in order to make their nests and give birth to their eggs. Other birds prefer to live near the city and eat the food which humans throw in the baskets. For example in London of England. And other birds live into the forest and in case of a human is living for a night in the forest the noise these birds make is frightening. The reasons that these birds are being threaten with extincted are: a) maybe is hunter period, which that is something legal in West Europe or b) some people try to take advantage of the meat of birds which is very tasteful for them.
Generally ”The Book of Birds” by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane make the reader who is going to read the book, to understand how important these species are for biodiversity of England and can help the reader to recognise any of these birds if finds them in nature. The work of this book by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane is great. So i suggest you to read the book.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
The Book of Birds is nothing short of a marvel, part field guide, part poem, part work of art, and wholly a celebration of the fragile, astonishing lives that share our skies.
Robert Macfarlane’s words are wonderful, lyrical, precise, and full of reverence for the natural world. He doesn’t simply describe birds; he invites us into relationship with them, asking not just what they are, but who they are. Each entry feels alive with movement, sound, and story, expanding beyond observation into something more intimate and essential.
But the real magic happens when Jackie Morris’ illustrations join those words on the page. Her artwork is breathtaking, delicate yet vivid, grounded in close attention but infused with a kind of quiet enchantment. Together, text and image create an experience that feels almost sacred, as though you are being asked to slow down, look closer, and remember what wonder feels like.
As a reader in the U.S., I haven’t encountered many of these particular species in real life, but that didn’t diminish the experience, in fact, it deepened it. I welcomed the chance to learn about birds beyond my immediate landscape, to see the shared threads of fragility, resilience, and beauty that connect them all. The book subtly reminds us that conservation is not local, it’s global, and it begins with attention and care.
I was lucky enough to read an ARC, but this is absolutely a book I will be buying and returning to again and again. It’s not just something to read once; it’s something to pore over, to revisit, to treasure. A future classic, and a powerful reminder that we will not save what we do not love.
Thank you to Edelweiss and W.W. Norton & Co. for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on June 9, 2026.
Robert Macfarlane’s words are wonderful, lyrical, precise, and full of reverence for the natural world. He doesn’t simply describe birds; he invites us into relationship with them, asking not just what they are, but who they are. Each entry feels alive with movement, sound, and story, expanding beyond observation into something more intimate and essential.
But the real magic happens when Jackie Morris’ illustrations join those words on the page. Her artwork is breathtaking, delicate yet vivid, grounded in close attention but infused with a kind of quiet enchantment. Together, text and image create an experience that feels almost sacred, as though you are being asked to slow down, look closer, and remember what wonder feels like.
As a reader in the U.S., I haven’t encountered many of these particular species in real life, but that didn’t diminish the experience, in fact, it deepened it. I welcomed the chance to learn about birds beyond my immediate landscape, to see the shared threads of fragility, resilience, and beauty that connect them all. The book subtly reminds us that conservation is not local, it’s global, and it begins with attention and care.
I was lucky enough to read an ARC, but this is absolutely a book I will be buying and returning to again and again. It’s not just something to read once; it’s something to pore over, to revisit, to treasure. A future classic, and a powerful reminder that we will not save what we do not love.
Thank you to Edelweiss and W.W. Norton & Co. for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on June 9, 2026.
June 10, 2026
A deeply meditative and poetic expression of nature writing!
Rather than a dry academic text, it strikes a perfect balance with being deeply interesting and informative, yet written with a lyrical precision that reads like a beautifully crafted love letter to the natural world. Listening to this book felt less like consuming a text and more like taking a slow, meditative walk through a forest.
The dual narration by authors Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris provides a great rhythm for this poetic style. The split between the male narrator exploring individual species and the female narrator mapping out the miraculous cycle of the "seven wonders" of birds from nest to migration works well.
What truly elevates this beyond a standard audiobook is the brilliant integration of background bird sounds. Far from being a distraction, these sounds are highly educational, aligning perfectly with whichever species is being discussed at the time. It turns the listening experience into something completely immersive, multi-sensory, and unique.
It loses just one star because of the natural trade-offs of the audio format. While it is unfortunate to lose the beautiful physical artwork and illustrations, you obviously cannot have those alongside the live audio sounds. Additionally, I found that the educational facts occasionally got a bit lost in the highly lyrical delivery.
Despite those minor formatting trade-offs, this remains highly recommended for anyone looking to slow down and truly connect with nature!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rather than a dry academic text, it strikes a perfect balance with being deeply interesting and informative, yet written with a lyrical precision that reads like a beautifully crafted love letter to the natural world. Listening to this book felt less like consuming a text and more like taking a slow, meditative walk through a forest.
The dual narration by authors Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris provides a great rhythm for this poetic style. The split between the male narrator exploring individual species and the female narrator mapping out the miraculous cycle of the "seven wonders" of birds from nest to migration works well.
What truly elevates this beyond a standard audiobook is the brilliant integration of background bird sounds. Far from being a distraction, these sounds are highly educational, aligning perfectly with whichever species is being discussed at the time. It turns the listening experience into something completely immersive, multi-sensory, and unique.
It loses just one star because of the natural trade-offs of the audio format. While it is unfortunate to lose the beautiful physical artwork and illustrations, you obviously cannot have those alongside the live audio sounds. Additionally, I found that the educational facts occasionally got a bit lost in the highly lyrical delivery.
Despite those minor formatting trade-offs, this remains highly recommended for anyone looking to slow down and truly connect with nature!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 15, 2026
I loved this book and when I reread my first draft of my review I had to stop because I realized that what I wrote would had me conclude that at best it wasn’t for me and at worst I truly would have hated it.
Let me try again with the facts. The bird population is declining at a truly alarming rate with a 50% decrease in the last several decades. It’s awful and non controversial.
But then the goal of the book is not only to be able to identify birds but to identify WITH them. The authors identify the seven wonders of birds: nests, eggs, beaks, songs, feathers, flight and migration. In doing so, he states his goal: people will not save what we do not love, and we rarely love what we cannot name.
This is where you need to trust me: he utilizes bird sounds, science, anecdotes, and poetry to bring them to life. It really works; it’s a magical book. I listened to the audiobook, and you wouldn’t want to miss that, but I will read it again to get the drawings I missed. I’m not sure I have ever read a book through print and audio before, but I don’t want to miss any of the wonder of this book.
We have a large bird feeder and bird bath in our backyard which I enjoy looking at, but there are there because my wife loves birds. I’m not sure I love them yet, but I’m intrigued and for the first time I want to learn more.
I’m afraid I’m not doing it justice and shame on me because it is an enormously entertaining and important book. Give it a shot; I’m pretty sure you will love it also.
Let me try again with the facts. The bird population is declining at a truly alarming rate with a 50% decrease in the last several decades. It’s awful and non controversial.
But then the goal of the book is not only to be able to identify birds but to identify WITH them. The authors identify the seven wonders of birds: nests, eggs, beaks, songs, feathers, flight and migration. In doing so, he states his goal: people will not save what we do not love, and we rarely love what we cannot name.
This is where you need to trust me: he utilizes bird sounds, science, anecdotes, and poetry to bring them to life. It really works; it’s a magical book. I listened to the audiobook, and you wouldn’t want to miss that, but I will read it again to get the drawings I missed. I’m not sure I have ever read a book through print and audio before, but I don’t want to miss any of the wonder of this book.
We have a large bird feeder and bird bath in our backyard which I enjoy looking at, but there are there because my wife loves birds. I’m not sure I love them yet, but I’m intrigued and for the first time I want to learn more.
I’m afraid I’m not doing it justice and shame on me because it is an enormously entertaining and important book. Give it a shot; I’m pretty sure you will love it also.
July 16, 2026
This is an absolutely wonderful, meditative collection of poetry and art. I've loved coming home from a stressful day of work to crack this open and read a few sections just to relax and enjoy something beautiful. It's been particularly fun for me to pull up an audio track of each individual bird's call while I'm reading their chapter. I'll be piecemealing this for quite a while, and in my humble opinion that's the ideal experience for a book like this.
The artwork is unbelievably stunning. I've had a recent fascination with watercolor and this is awash with some of the best examples I've seen. I can't count the number of times I'll finish a section, turn the page to the illustration, and then immediately turn to my wife and say "holy shit, look at this!"
The book wears its heart on its sleeve, or perhaps its more apt to say on its cover, when it calls itself a "field guide to wonder and loss." It's meant less as a field guide for the birds themselves, and more as an emotional primer. It invites you to gaze in wonder at these amazing creatures, then asks you to imagine a world without. I grew up in very rural America. Can I imagine my childhood without the ever-present birdsong in spring? Would those camping trips have been quite the same without the haunting hooo..hoooo... of the owls at night? Some of my earliest memories are of seeing those perfect little nests and those perfect little eggs, then before long hearing those little chirps from my front porch.
This book is perfect.
The artwork is unbelievably stunning. I've had a recent fascination with watercolor and this is awash with some of the best examples I've seen. I can't count the number of times I'll finish a section, turn the page to the illustration, and then immediately turn to my wife and say "holy shit, look at this!"
The book wears its heart on its sleeve, or perhaps its more apt to say on its cover, when it calls itself a "field guide to wonder and loss." It's meant less as a field guide for the birds themselves, and more as an emotional primer. It invites you to gaze in wonder at these amazing creatures, then asks you to imagine a world without. I grew up in very rural America. Can I imagine my childhood without the ever-present birdsong in spring? Would those camping trips have been quite the same without the haunting hooo..hoooo... of the owls at night? Some of my earliest memories are of seeing those perfect little nests and those perfect little eggs, then before long hearing those little chirps from my front porch.
This book is perfect.
June 11, 2026
This is such a beautiful book, both in presentation and in contents. If you have any interest in art or nature, you need this book in your life.
The life, the beauty, the wonder of 49 different bird species, but not the usual dry recitation of facts and figures, but the poetry, and the life of the birds. Each one starts with a portrait, not just of the bird, but of the egg, as is not egg one of the wonders of the bird. A description follows, more poetic, and emotional than what would normally be expected.
But this is not enough, we must truly wonder in the form so a full double page spread follows on
Along side all this are little essays on the 7 wonders of bird, Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight and Migration.
This is the perfect fusion of art and nature, the Illustrations of Jackie Morris aligns with the words of Robert Macfarlane making the birds come to life on the page. You can see why it took 7 years to make
Can not recommend this book enough
The life, the beauty, the wonder of 49 different bird species, but not the usual dry recitation of facts and figures, but the poetry, and the life of the birds. Each one starts with a portrait, not just of the bird, but of the egg, as is not egg one of the wonders of the bird. A description follows, more poetic, and emotional than what would normally be expected.
But this is not enough, we must truly wonder in the form so a full double page spread follows on
Along side all this are little essays on the 7 wonders of bird, Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight and Migration.
This is the perfect fusion of art and nature, the Illustrations of Jackie Morris aligns with the words of Robert Macfarlane making the birds come to life on the page. You can see why it took 7 years to make
Can not recommend this book enough
July 13, 2026
While I enjoyed the two Lost Words books, this edges from whimsical into twee (especially when addressing birds directly). It's as if Macfarlane wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it - inform with scientific detail, record personal sightings, charm with poetic engagement, or fire up with environmentalist fervor - so jumbled all the strategies together. This means there are several different books' worth of material, but he doesn't lean into any one element. It makes for an odd mishmash that comes together well in some chapters, notably Osprey, but often doesn't gel. The divisions feel arbitrary, too (Nest, Flight, Song, etc. - most birds exemplify them all). I liked the Moorhen chapter, written as a dating ad, for trying something novel. The volume of Jackie Morris's paintings is impressive more than the detail in some of them: weird proportions, off colours, unusual positioning (rather like Audubon in that way, but she claims to have drawn from life). But you can't argue with their stated aim to give readers intimate introductions to threatened birds.
A favourite passage:
"We call you 'common', Tern - but common things are often the easiest to lose. Lulled by the name, we cease to look, we cease to care, we do not spot the slow decay, we fail to stop the common becoming rare."
A favourite passage:
"We call you 'common', Tern - but common things are often the easiest to lose. Lulled by the name, we cease to look, we cease to care, we do not spot the slow decay, we fail to stop the common becoming rare."
June 17, 2026
“There are seven wonders of bird, and the first of these is nest.”
The production value of the audiobook is spectacular. Each track has a backdrop of bird calls, and sometimes those were the star of the show. The different hoots and squawks and cheeps really helped illuminate the subject of each essay. I LOVED the audiobook… but I still wish I had the book physically. I want to see the paintings of each bird! Upon further reflection, this is a book that could benefit from tandem reading both the audiobook and the physical book, and I would highly recommend getting both. I have only peeked at the Amazon listing for the physical book, and I’m blown away. It’s definitely going on my wishlist.
If you have to choose one, I’m not mad at the audiobook. In life, I’m often more likely to hear birds than see them. Both narrators are fabulous. The bird song is amazing. I love audiobooks because you can multitask. It was really fun listening to the audiobook while out for a walk, and hearing bird noises from the book and from real birds. I kept pausing the book to see if I could really hear them.
Thank you NetGalley for this ALC.
The production value of the audiobook is spectacular. Each track has a backdrop of bird calls, and sometimes those were the star of the show. The different hoots and squawks and cheeps really helped illuminate the subject of each essay. I LOVED the audiobook… but I still wish I had the book physically. I want to see the paintings of each bird! Upon further reflection, this is a book that could benefit from tandem reading both the audiobook and the physical book, and I would highly recommend getting both. I have only peeked at the Amazon listing for the physical book, and I’m blown away. It’s definitely going on my wishlist.
If you have to choose one, I’m not mad at the audiobook. In life, I’m often more likely to hear birds than see them. Both narrators are fabulous. The bird song is amazing. I love audiobooks because you can multitask. It was really fun listening to the audiobook while out for a walk, and hearing bird noises from the book and from real birds. I kept pausing the book to see if I could really hear them.
Thank you NetGalley for this ALC.
June 20, 2026
**4.5 stars**
This book made my nerdy little heart happy.
After a steady diet of dystopian fiction and the kind of dark, heavy nonfiction that leaves you staring into the void, this book felt like a breath of fresh air. It's a celebration of curiosity, observation, language, memory, and the natural world—equal parts field guide, meditation, and love letter to birds.
The author has a gift for finding meaning in small things and reminding us to slow down and pay attention. The book never feels preachy or academic, despite being packed with fascinating information. Instead, it invites you to look more closely at the world around you and to consider what is lost when we stop noticing it.
I cannot recommend the audiobook strongly enough. The narration is poetic and perfectly suited to the material, and each chapter is accompanied by matching birdsong that creates an immersive listening experience.
If, like me, you've been buried in grim news, bleak histories, or end-of-the-world fiction, this is a wonderful palate cleanser. Thoughtful, beautiful, and quietly moving, it's a reminder that there is still plenty of wonder left in the world if we're willing to pay attention.
This book made my nerdy little heart happy.
After a steady diet of dystopian fiction and the kind of dark, heavy nonfiction that leaves you staring into the void, this book felt like a breath of fresh air. It's a celebration of curiosity, observation, language, memory, and the natural world—equal parts field guide, meditation, and love letter to birds.
The author has a gift for finding meaning in small things and reminding us to slow down and pay attention. The book never feels preachy or academic, despite being packed with fascinating information. Instead, it invites you to look more closely at the world around you and to consider what is lost when we stop noticing it.
I cannot recommend the audiobook strongly enough. The narration is poetic and perfectly suited to the material, and each chapter is accompanied by matching birdsong that creates an immersive listening experience.
If, like me, you've been buried in grim news, bleak histories, or end-of-the-world fiction, this is a wonderful palate cleanser. Thoughtful, beautiful, and quietly moving, it's a reminder that there is still plenty of wonder left in the world if we're willing to pay attention.
July 5, 2026
This is a gorgeous book. Jackie Morris’s renderings of birds are stunning. The pages read to me as golden byôbu (decorative screens), perfect for furnishing the memory.
Robert Macfarlane’s exquisite word choice breathes joy as it warns of winnowing. “A great thinning of the skies is under way… Dawns and springs are quieter; the air, emptier. An ancient avian orchestra is falling silent. An almost unimaginable abundance has been lost.”
If incantation still had sorcerous power, Macfarlane would bring these birds back from the brink. “Fierce little Merlin is shape-shifter shaman-bird: part magus, part spectre, a quicksilver-hunter of fringes and edges, too fast in flight for human eyes to follow, so she exists as maybe-glimpses, as might-have-beens and almost-seems. She’s a compound creature, an alchemist’s brainchild: alert, bright, hungry, utterly wild.”
This is a roll call not only of the eye-catching, but also of the common birds that are becoming rarer, “on the slow slide away.” I too miss the sparrows that used to flock down our driveway. These days there is too little chirping to enliven the spirit.
Robert Macfarlane’s exquisite word choice breathes joy as it warns of winnowing. “A great thinning of the skies is under way… Dawns and springs are quieter; the air, emptier. An ancient avian orchestra is falling silent. An almost unimaginable abundance has been lost.”
If incantation still had sorcerous power, Macfarlane would bring these birds back from the brink. “Fierce little Merlin is shape-shifter shaman-bird: part magus, part spectre, a quicksilver-hunter of fringes and edges, too fast in flight for human eyes to follow, so she exists as maybe-glimpses, as might-have-beens and almost-seems. She’s a compound creature, an alchemist’s brainchild: alert, bright, hungry, utterly wild.”
This is a roll call not only of the eye-catching, but also of the common birds that are becoming rarer, “on the slow slide away.” I too miss the sparrows that used to flock down our driveway. These days there is too little chirping to enliven the spirit.
Review of advance copy
"Absence is harder to track and feel than presence. The ghosts of gone birds fade quickly from memory . . . It does not have to be this way -- but we will not save what we do not love, and we rarely love what we cannot name." "Ours is a field guide with a difference, though. It asks not 'What is that bird? but Who is that bird?' It wishes to help its readers to identify birds, of course, but also to identify with themm. Instead of photographs paint. Alongside data - metaphor, story, poetry. In place of definition -- relation. As well as classification -- something like love."
The Book of Birds brings together again Robert Macfarlane, who paints with words, and Jackie Morris, an exquisite painter with traditional mediums. It's a field guide of sorts - not meant to be comprehensive but evocative, to respond to the dramatic reduction in bird populations and to remind us not only of what we are losing, but why it matters. Every page and paragraph in here is a work of art for your eyes and for your heart.
The Book of Birds brings together again Robert Macfarlane, who paints with words, and Jackie Morris, an exquisite painter with traditional mediums. It's a field guide of sorts - not meant to be comprehensive but evocative, to respond to the dramatic reduction in bird populations and to remind us not only of what we are losing, but why it matters. Every page and paragraph in here is a work of art for your eyes and for your heart.
xx-dnf-skim-reference
July 10, 2026A very pretty book.
I admire the goal of raising awareness. They credit Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets, with "Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." But will anybody who really needs this book see it?
There is some science, but it's buried in very fancy poetic language. Even more 'extra' than Ray Bradbury's metaphors, embellishments, etc.
It's not necessarily about endangered species, unless starlings are in more trouble in Europe than in the US? All birds, all wilderness, needs more respect than it's getting now, but starlings!?
Anyway, too much for me. I wanted something a bit more straightforward & science-heavy. So I won't rate. I hope, if you choose to read it, that you are astonished, and that you share the beauty with those you know who need to learn of and to see it.
July 2026
I admire the goal of raising awareness. They credit Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets, with "Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." But will anybody who really needs this book see it?
There is some science, but it's buried in very fancy poetic language. Even more 'extra' than Ray Bradbury's metaphors, embellishments, etc.
It's not necessarily about endangered species, unless starlings are in more trouble in Europe than in the US? All birds, all wilderness, needs more respect than it's getting now, but starlings!?
Anyway, too much for me. I wanted something a bit more straightforward & science-heavy. So I won't rate. I hope, if you choose to read it, that you are astonished, and that you share the beauty with those you know who need to learn of and to see it.
July 2026
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book had an emotional pull that I wasn't expecting - but how could it not when it's primarily about our thinning skies? I was saddened to read about the birds that were at risk of becoming extinct... some of them not for the first time, for the second time. This incredible volume focuses not on identification but rather the spirit of each bird, their habitats, myths and the threats that they face. It's a lesson, a reminder, an education and ultimately a call to action which should not be ignored.
Each bird is brought to life in the pages of this book through paintings by Jacqui Morris and words from Robert Macfarlane. From the Avocet to the Yellowhammer, forty-nine species of birds on the British red or amber list of declining or endangered birds, are explored, illustrated and celebrated.
This book must be in the hands of as many people as possible, for without action we are at risk of these wonderful birds becoming part of history instead of our present and future.
Each bird is brought to life in the pages of this book through paintings by Jacqui Morris and words from Robert Macfarlane. From the Avocet to the Yellowhammer, forty-nine species of birds on the British red or amber list of declining or endangered birds, are explored, illustrated and celebrated.
This book must be in the hands of as many people as possible, for without action we are at risk of these wonderful birds becoming part of history instead of our present and future.
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