Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane, the duo behind the bestselling book The Lost Words, have reunited for a new collaboration titled The Book of Birds. The book focuses on 49 species on the British red or amber list of declining and endangered birds, aiming to highlight their beauty and the threats they face.
Morris and Macfarlane gave the Guardian exclusive extracts from the book, which combines paintings by Morris with prose by Macfarlane. Unlike traditional field guides, the book asks not 'what is that bird?' but 'who is that bird?', encouraging readers to identify with the species rather than just identify them.
Macfarlane noted the severe decline in bird populations, with 3 billion fewer birds in North America and 600 million fewer in Europe compared to 50 years ago. 'Our skies are thinner, our springs quieter. This is a savage loss,' he said. The book aims to pull birds back into focus and warn against their vanishing.
Morris, who has sold over a million books worldwide, said she hopes The Book of Birds will give young people 'wings' and help birds become visible to those who do not see them. She described it as 'more important than any other book I’ve done.' The book took seven years to create.
An exhibition inspired by the book, titled The Wonder of Birds, will open at the Bodleian Library on 6 May. It will feature work by pioneering ornithological photographer Emma Turner, art from 19th-century American bird illustrator John James Audubon, and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s original handwritten annotations for To a Skylark.
Morris admitted she is never satisfied with her bird paintings, saying she is 'always chasing a life-force and the soul of a creature.' Asked if The Book of Birds could replicate the success of The Lost Words, she said: 'I’ve never known a book to do things like The Lost Words did before. I don’t think you can get that twice in a lifetime.'
