The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live pdf

Colin Tudge was born in London in 1943. He has a lifelong interest in biology and a long-standing interest in farming, food politics, “various bits of philosophy”, and is especially interested these days in the relationship between science and religion—“both are necessary”. He has three children and two grandchildren, and lives in Oxford with his wife Ruth West.
Since leaving university in 1965 (Peterhouse, Cambridge, Zoology) Colin Tudge has earned his living by writing and broadcasting. Between 1980 and 1984 he was features editor for New Scientist magazine. He has also worked on science programmes for BBC Radio and presented the regular programme “Spectrum”.
Colin Tudge has written for various magazines and newspapers includingFarmer’s Weekly, New Scientist, The New Statesman, Nature, The Times,The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian, Resurgence,The Daily Mail, The London Review of Books, Natural History, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Index for Free Expression. But mainly he writes books, two of which have been shortlisted for the COPUS/Poulence Science Book of the Year; Last Animals at the Zoo (1991) and The Engineer in the Garden (1993).The Day Before Yesterday (1995) won the B.P. Conservation Book of the Year Award.
Colin Tudge is a former member of the Council for the Zoological Society of London and since 1995 has been a visiting Research Fellow of the Centre for Philosophy at the London School of Economics.

The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live pdf by Colin Tudge

• How are birds so good at flying and navigating?
• Why are birds so like mammals– and yet so very different?
• Did birds descend from dinosaurs, and if so, does that mean birds are dinosaurs?
• How do they court each other and fend off rivals?
• What' s being communicated in birdsong?
• Can we ever know how birds think?
In this fascinating exploration of the avian class, Colin Tudge considers the creatures of the air. From their evolutionary roots to their flying, feeding, fighting, mating, nesting, and communicating, Tudge provocatively ponders what birds actually do–as well as why they do it and how. With the same curiosity, passion, and insight he brought to redwoods, pines, and palm trees in his widely acclaimed book The Tree, Tudge here studies sparrows, parrots, and even the Monkey-eating Eagle to better understand their world–and our own.
There is far more to a bird's existence than gliding gracefully on air currents or chirping sweetly from fence posts–the stakes are life and death. By observing and explaining the complex strategy that comes into play with everything from migration to social interaction to the timing of giving birth to young, Tudge reveals how birds are uniquely equipped biologically to succeed and survive. And he offers an impassioned plea for humans to learn to coexist with birds without continuing to endanger their survival.
Complete with an "annotated cast list" of all the known birds in the world– plus gorgeous illustrations–The Bird is a comprehensive and delightfully accessible guide for everyone from dedicated birders to casual birdwatchers that celebrates and illuminates the remarkable lives of birds.