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Product Description
Review
Tudge's writing is always clear and frequently embellished with wry humour. Occasionally, it is inspired ... There are not many books that clearly explain the science behind the extravagant diversity of birds and how they live. --Richard Fortey, Sunday Telegraph
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
An author whose own deep relish for the extraordinary lives of birds seems only marginally less pleasurable to him than sharing that wonder with others.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Colin Tudge has mastered the art of passing on to his readers his enthusiasm for his subject. A delight to read, not only is THE SECRET LIFE OF BIRDS full of fascinating information about birds, it inspires the reader to find out more about them. Although one might wish for more illustrations and figures, those that are in the book are of the highest quality. This is a book to dip into any time, any place, with the knowledge that you will be entertained, educated and enthralled and it will inspire the reader to find out more about birds and their origins as well as wanting to do all one can to protect and cherish them anywhere and everywhere. So far, most evidence supports the belief that birds have evolved from the Theropod branch of the dinosaurs and Colin likes to think we still have dinosaurs in our gardens. His enthusiasm is infectious and the reader will soon find him/herself looking out of the window at the birds and saying: 'Hello my friendly neighbourhood dinosaurs!'
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read. Every page is crammed full of information about birds, but it is written in a way that is entertaining. I almost forgot that I was learning! Since reading it, I find myself picking it up again and again to remind myself of the wonders it reveals. I wish my memory was better.
David Walters
David Walters
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book (previously published as Consider the Birds) is a introduction to the biology of birds.
Birds are some of the most remarkable of living things and the things that make then remarkable, migration, flight, egg laying, courtship are all included here. What I found to be missing, or at least less obvious, was a sense of wonder at how remarkable birds actually are. In some ways I think the book falls between two stools - it is neither really comprehensive enough to act as a text book, nor entertaining enough to be taken as a populist science work. The book covers most of the major aspects of birds lives in a manner that is more lucid than entertaining. While the intention of the book is clearly serious, it is not without its lighter passages, but I did not find these as frequent as some of the cover comments would suggest.
Almost 25% of the book is taken up with a "cast list" of birds, listed by Family. While such a section is needed in a book aiming at being comprehensive it seemed rather long, and certainly in the wrong place in the book. It reads like a appendix that has somehow been dropped into the middle of the book The feeling that this section is not really the main game of the book is reinforced by the fact that the phrase "and we will look at this interesting aspect of these birds at a later date" (or one that means the same thing) is very common here. An understanding of bird taxonomy is important, but if the focus of the book is "who birds are and what they do" do we need almost a quarter of the book to be used looking at taxonomy, which is, after all, just a human invention and probably wrong in many of the relationships it currently proposes? I would suggest that you read the sections about the types of birds in which you are especially interested and then move on.
There are other aspects of this book which I did not really enjoy,and some that seem to less than acurate. One being the suggestion that Archaeopteryx (probably the most famous of bird fossils) is the direct ancestor of modern birds. Fossilization is uncommon, and locating fossils unlikely, so for any single individual bird to be fossilized, found and be the direct ancestor seems unlikely. The more fossils we find the more "bushy" family trees become, with most branches ending in extinction. Does Archaeopteryx give us a window into bird evolution? Yes. Is it the direct ancestor of the birds on our lawns? Probably not.
If you are new to the biology of birds this book is an excellent starting point. However, if you already have more than a passing understanding of birds and their biology, this may not be the book for you.
Birds are some of the most remarkable of living things and the things that make then remarkable, migration, flight, egg laying, courtship are all included here. What I found to be missing, or at least less obvious, was a sense of wonder at how remarkable birds actually are. In some ways I think the book falls between two stools - it is neither really comprehensive enough to act as a text book, nor entertaining enough to be taken as a populist science work. The book covers most of the major aspects of birds lives in a manner that is more lucid than entertaining. While the intention of the book is clearly serious, it is not without its lighter passages, but I did not find these as frequent as some of the cover comments would suggest.
Almost 25% of the book is taken up with a "cast list" of birds, listed by Family. While such a section is needed in a book aiming at being comprehensive it seemed rather long, and certainly in the wrong place in the book. It reads like a appendix that has somehow been dropped into the middle of the book The feeling that this section is not really the main game of the book is reinforced by the fact that the phrase "and we will look at this interesting aspect of these birds at a later date" (or one that means the same thing) is very common here. An understanding of bird taxonomy is important, but if the focus of the book is "who birds are and what they do" do we need almost a quarter of the book to be used looking at taxonomy, which is, after all, just a human invention and probably wrong in many of the relationships it currently proposes? I would suggest that you read the sections about the types of birds in which you are especially interested and then move on.
There are other aspects of this book which I did not really enjoy,and some that seem to less than acurate. One being the suggestion that Archaeopteryx (probably the most famous of bird fossils) is the direct ancestor of modern birds. Fossilization is uncommon, and locating fossils unlikely, so for any single individual bird to be fossilized, found and be the direct ancestor seems unlikely. The more fossils we find the more "bushy" family trees become, with most branches ending in extinction. Does Archaeopteryx give us a window into bird evolution? Yes. Is it the direct ancestor of the birds on our lawns? Probably not.
If you are new to the biology of birds this book is an excellent starting point. However, if you already have more than a passing understanding of birds and their biology, this may not be the book for you.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
hard work
I don't lik to be critical but I found this quiet a hard read with either a lot of opinions or an awful lot of dry facts & science that aren't of huge interest to me.
Published 2 months ago by Lucky Dog
Excellent book but don't buy Kindle edition.
The book subject is excellent; well written and informative but the Kindle edition is very unsatisfactory. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Chris Tudge
Heavy going but good
I was hoping this book would enlighten me on the lives of garden birds such as the blackbird.
In fact the first half of the book deals with how birds evolved from the age of... Read more
In fact the first half of the book deals with how birds evolved from the age of... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by Nick H
Quite a few mistakes, but good nonetheless
An entertaining and often light-hearted explanation of bird biology including (the current thinking on) their evolution from dinosaurs. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by Hawfinch
Fascinating and informative
I am surprised by all the things I don't know about birds. A great read.
Published on 3 Sep 2009 by John Hough
Excellent
Excellent,thoroughly excellent.If the author was a rock star,he would no doubt change his name to something more hip. Read more
Published on 9 May 2009 by William Thurgood
Excellent and Entertaining
If you are a bird person, this is a must. Excellent reading and thoroughly enjoyable. I recommend to all bird lovers.
Published on 3 April 2009 by V. Hayes
Consider the Birds: Who They are and What They Do
This is a fascinating, entertaining, and amusing book, with a lot of very good information within it. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2009 by Dr. K. A. Campbell
Lots of tidbits
Well written and largely very readable. Perhaps a bit heavy in some of the accounts of families. But a host of interesting bits of information is scattered through its pages.
Published on 4 Feb 2009 by C. Dyckhoff
Birdy Book
Bought for my mother who has a passing interest in birds and at 80 years plus has a growing relationship with a variety of garden birds, through regular feeding. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by pipando
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