Feathers: Displays of Brilliant Plumage

by Robert Clark, Carl Zimmer (Introduction)

Exquisite images from award-winning National Geographic photographer Robert Clark offer a captivating perspective on the vast beauty and myriad functions of a seemingly simple the bird feather. Each detailed close-up is paired with informative text about the utility and evolution of the feather it depicts, making this handsome marriage of art and science the ideal gift for bird lovers, natural history buffs, and photography enthusiasts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Photography, Birds, Art, Science, Animals

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2016

About the author

Robert Clark is a longtime contract photographer for National Geographic.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert^^Clark

Reviews

[Kari Stemm-wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessie, I checked this out from the library and it was gorgeous. If I were loaded I would buy a copy right now. When I am loaded in the future I will buy a copy right then. Your friend, Hob

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book that had caught my interest since it is about feathers. Although in most states it is illegal to collect feathers even if they are floating around I always am charmed when I find one and enjoy taking the time to study it and to wonder what kind of bird it may have belonged to. Just a local study will show the differences in birds all around.

The first time I tried to read the book was a digital copy but it kept butchering the wording on me even when I tried to put it on portrait or landscape. As a result I chose to set it aside until I could find myself a physical copy to read. And in this case I was really pleased and happy to be able to get a physical copy.

For the writing the book describes the origins of feathers, their make-up and their use in the wild birds that have them. They explain the differences that can be found in just the feather shape for various species as well. All in all I found this information to be get informative but easy-to-understand while I enjoyed getting a chance to go over it.

But the true keeper for this book are the photographs. The author focuses on either an individual feather or sometimes the whole while very few have a face shot. The head shots are beautifully done, the eyes pull you in and stir up the primeval joy of the wild. Meanwhile the photographs for the feathers catch all their beauty, their eccentricity and uniqueness. The colors are gorgeous and the iridescence beguiling.

All in all it is a great book to enjoy even if not many local species are included. It would make a great present for any birder who will enjoy it just as much as they enjoy the birds that the feathers are a part of.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of photos of, well, feathers -- mostly from spectacular birds, mostly individual flight feathers, but all kinds, all colors, all.types. These are from various collections, mostly natural-history museums. The specimens of whole wings are pretty creepy. The taxidermy specimens are OK, and a couple are startlingly life-like. Photo reproduction and colors are first rate, up to the best current printing I've seen. Made & printed in China . No credit given (that I saw) for the printer and binder.

So: not a book I would buy, but I enjoyed spending a couple of hours with the library copy. New book, so no frustration with scratched, dirty, and/or worn pages. Nice book. Recommended.

The Amazon page has a decent set of preview pages, but my attempt to view them (best with the page set to max size & minimum clutter) ended in frustration, with the page stuck in a failed script-loop. A fairly common problem over there. Current Firefox browser, current Mac OS-X. Maybe you'll have better luck.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might also enjoy:

✱ Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its always fun to look at pretty pictures.
I found myself looking up other pictures of the birds the feathers were from to try to get some context.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the surface this book may not be the beautiful bird pictorial book that people love, but if you dig deeper and read all of the information, this is a fascinating read!

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cool book about bird feathers.

[Zachary Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Each bird has over a thousand feathers, and in a single day in New Haven, you could easily see a million of them. And yet, unless you push your brain in a birdish direction, you might not give those feathers a single thought. That's a shame, because there is no better way in our ordinary lives to confront evolution's riot of invention and beauty."

Every day I inch closer to become a bird watcher and this book did nothing but drag me closer to my inevitable fate. Like the title implies, this is a gorgeous book of feather photography. You can view many of these photos on Robert Clark's website.

I do wish that Clark included what the birds actually looked like, but this was still an absolute delight to page through - highly recommend!

Favorite birds from the book!
-Southern Giant Petrel
-Great Argus
-Golden-headed Quetzal ("The vibrant feathers of the Quetzal have been sought after for hundreds of years. The Aztec and Maya of Central America once adorned their crowns with the green plumes of the local varietal, the Resplendent Quetzal.")
-Lesser Snow Goose
-Silver Pheasant
-Grey Junglefowl
-Victoria Crown Pigeon
-Golden-Breasted Starling

Also wanted to highlight the very sweet bird related acknowledgement at the start of this book:

"The people in my life—my wife, Lai Ling, and daughter, Lola—are the two wings of my life that give flight to any and all of my best ideas."

[Connie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos in this book are gorgeous, mostly close-ups of bird feathers.

My main suggestion is that a small photo or drawing of the bird discussed should be shown with the feather. (Granted, I have a smartphone and I could look each bird up now, but didn't necessarily want to.)

Also, the details listed went over my head sometimes. The writing is mostly for serious birders. The pictures are for everybody. Just beautiful.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of photographs of feathers, most are just of one feather, or close-ups of parts of a feather. It certainly opens the viewer's eyes as to how remarkable and amazing something as simple and commonplace as a feather is.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful photos. I loved learning about all the different ways feathers are structured based on how a bird uses them. For some of the birds I was unfamiliar with it would have been helpful to see an image of the whole bird with an arrow of where this specific feather is located.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful collection of feathers from around the world! Such delicate things and each one has its own intricate colors, designs etc.
If you love birds and not just the ones in your backyard this is a great book!

[Andrew Blok · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is neat. Brightly colored feathers. Intricate details. Minimal, but interesting info about the feathers and the birds they come from. Beautiful photographs.

I find birds more interesting.

[Patreesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos. Interesting bits of information. Quality book.
Unfortunately it has neither a list of the birds discussed nor a full body photo of each.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

book with very beautiful photos of feathers. totally worth it. nice short descriptions with every photo.

[Yaaresse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rally beautiful book showing the amazing details of feathers. There is little text, but what there is, is interesting. Quality printing on the hardback edition, too.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures of the birds and not just their feathers would have made this a 5-star book. The photos are beautiful!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has truly lovely photographs of different feathers of birds of the world. However, I did not care for the actual lay-out of the book. On a casual flip-through, white pages are the most prominent feature.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, simple images of bird feathers lend the pages with sophistication. The narrative, while as simple as the images, provide a teaser of knowledge making me wish to delve further into the world of birds. I borrowed this book from my local library.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I should be less surprised that there are so many different things happening with bird feathers, after all, there are so many different types of birds. This book has some really nice closeups of a smattering of those. Pretty!

[Tina Panik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing photography

[Ambur Taft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely feathers

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual book. I was hoping for more pictures of whole birds not just the feathers. But the title is Feathers so I shouldn't be surprised.

[Rtamura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photographs of beautiful feathers!!!