Birds

The British Museum’s vast collections include wonderful images of birds from all over the world. Some are primarily decorative, whereas Thomas Bewick and the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro chose to show birds in realistic detail, going about their daily lives. Other artists concentrate on scientific accuracy. The endless variety of birds, their freedom of sky, land and water, and especially their song have also inspired writers through the ages. Each striking image in this beautiful anthology is matched with a poem about the same species. Some were composed by our best-loved writers – including Shakespeare, Chaucer and Tennyson – and others have been selected from less familiar or even anonymous voices around the world. Now in a fresh new paperback format, this is an irresistible gift for anyone who loves birds.