Birds Britannica.
London: Chatto & Windus, 2005. Quarto, colour photographs, fine copy in dustwrapper.
Birds Britannica is neither an identification guide nor a behavioural study (though both these subjects enter its field). It covers cultural links, social history, birds as food, ecology, the lore and language of birds, myths, art, literature and music, anecdotes, birdsong and rare facts, modern developments, migration, the seasons and our sense of place. An attempt to describe the interaction of birds and humans, it captures the essence of why birds matter.