Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most
popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the Festive
Season. Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off point, he
explores the place of twelve fascinating British birds in our history,
culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there's the swan
and of course the partridge.
Other chapters are loose
interpretations of a verse: for drummers drumming he delves into the
woodpecker's distinctive drumming tap. Woodpeckers, he explains, have
special padded skulls to mitigate against using its head like hammer
drills. They carefully select dead trees for the most hollow, sonorous
sound.
With brilliant anecdotes and insights, Stephen Moss
weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling
narrative for each species, tracing its fortunes over the past two
centuries. 'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham
Hardback
The Twelve Birds of Christmas - Stephen Moss
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£11.99