Wood thrush, Kentucky warbler, the Eastern kingbird-migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half of the songbirds that filled the skies only forty years ago. Renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury convincingly argues that songbirds truly are the "canaries in the coal mine"-except the coal mine looks a lot like Earth and we are the hapless excavators. Following the birds on their six-thousand-mile migratory journey, Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand the major threats to songbirds: pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm; the destruction of vital habitat, from the boreal forests of Canada to the diminishing continuous forests of the United States to the grasslands of Argentina; coffee plantations, which push birds out of their forest refuges so we can have our morning fix; the bright lights and structures in our cities, which prove a minefield for migrating birds; and global warming. We could well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. But we won't just be missing their cheery calls, we'll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem. Without songbirds, our forests would face uncontrolled insect infestations, and our trees, flowers, and gardens would lose a crucial element in their reproductive cycle. As Stutchbury shows, saving songbirds means protecting our ecosystem and ultimately ourselves.

Migratory songbirds are disappearing at an alarming rate. By some estimates we have already lost half the songbirds that filled the skies 40 years ago. The author demonstrates why this decline should concern us all. She examines the most threatening factors to these animals: pesticides, the destruction of vital habitat, coffee plantations, bright lights and the structures of our cities and global warming.

A lyrical celebration of birdsong, and the rekindling of a deep passion for nature. 'At this time of year, blackbirds never simply fly: instead, like reluctantly retired officers, they're always "on manoeuvres", and it's easy to see from their constant agitation that for them every flower bed is a bunker, every shed a redoubt and every hedge-bottom a potential place of ambush' As the world went silent in lockdown, something else happened; for the first time, many of us started becoming more aware of the spring sounds of the birds around us. Birdsong in a Time of Silence is a lyrical, uplifting reflection on these sounds and what they mean to us. From a portrait of the blackbird - most prominent and articulate of the early spring singers - to explorations of how birds sing, the science behind their choice of song and nest-sites, and the varied meanings that people have brought to and taken from birdsong, this book ultimately shows that natural history and human history cannot be separated. It is the story of a collective reawakening brought on by the strangest of springs.

A Yale-educated professor of biology, Bridget Stutchbury roams forests studying the social lives and sexual antics of birds, sharing with us the curious reasons for their strange behaviour, bright colouring and elaborate songs. Migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may have already lost almost half of the songbirds that filled the skies only 40 years ago. In Silence of the Songbirds, Bridget Stutchbury follows the birds on their 10,000-kilometre migratory journey and looks at the factors most threatening their extinction, from pesticides to the destruction of vital habitat; from the bright lights and structures of our cities to climate change. We may well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. In The Bird Detective, author Bridget Stutchbury explains why some birds readily “divorce,” why parents don’t treat their sons and daughters equally, why females sneak in quick sex with neighbouring males and why some adults forgo breeding altogether. Stutchbury writes about the territorial nature of birds and describes their nesting habits, revealing why some species prefer to live in over-crowded groups. Perhaps most important, she illuminates how climate change and other pressures of the modern world are forcing birds to change their habits as they fight for their very survival.

Interview with Bridget Stutchbury, a scientist who studies songbird migration, behaviour and social life. She analyzes what their songs mean, and how these tiny creatures make their way from as far south as Uruguay, to as far north as the boreal forests of Canada, losing up to half of their body weight in the process. She studies their habitat, their sex lives, their flight paths, and the contributions they make to the very fabric of North American life. Our forests, our crops, our gardens, all depend on the birds. Dr. Stutchbury sounds a warning about the threats to their survival. Habitat destruction, pesticides, predators and collisions with skyscrapers, for starters. At least 18 species are in sharp decline. But Stutchbury also shows how each of us can make a difference to the lives of these heartbreakingly wonderful little birds by acts as simple as choosing bird friendly coffee, and toilet paper, and turning off the lights in our offices. Above all, Bridget Stutchbury reawakens our sense of wonder at the birds who surround us, and who bring such joy and colour to our lives. In 2005, Dr. Stutchbury was named one of the Toronto Star's "People to Watch" after her groundbreaking research into the sexual antics of birds made international headlines. She is the author of two books, Silence of the Songbirds (2007), which was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Nonfiction, and The Bird Detective (2010).

An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia’s distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries. From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.