Reviews

The Secret Life of Birds: Who They Are and What They Do by Colin Tudge

theaceofpages's review

informative slow-paced

3.5

I love birds and love reading about them but this book was just okay. The author repeats himself a lot (especially "some birds are more equal than others" and especially this phrase in the first chapter. It was fun at first but it quickly just got annoying). This book had some fun anecdotes but it was missing something and could have used some references as he keeps crossing the line between fact and opinion without stating where it changes. Especially since he states at the start that he is not actually  scientist. He does provide a (partial?) reference list at the end but some statements really need the study/studies backing them up in the text itself. I don't have time to go through all of them to fact check and find out what has been shown and what he thinks.

Also, I don't really understand the need for such a long list of bird families. He really didn't provide much information about most of them. I also wonder how much the editors actually read this part in detail as I had a look at the starlings (since I have spent a lot of time studying them) and after about two sentences he says - but more on this later. This family is only briefly mentioned once or twice more in the book. I didn't see anything factually incorrect in the parts I did read (based on the then data since things have changed a bit since then) but small things like this bothered me.

While not bad and I'm sure bird lovers will still enjoy this book, I would recommend reading other books on bird behaviour over this one.

catherine_t's review against another edition

5.0

This book has changed the way I look at birds. I've always liked birds, with the exceptions of gulls and pigeons, but now I can't even look at a herring gull the same way as I always have. Tudge delves into the lives of birds with humour and a keen eye. You'll learn things you didn't even know you didn't know!

hilaritas's review against another edition

2.0

I didn't finish this book. The author gets points for being exhaustive, but... he loses points for being exhaustive. A lot of the book is just lists of things some birds do. And since birds are so diverse, those lists get LONG. And not necessarily organized by any particular principle. While I usually like this sort of infodump, I just couldn't get into it here. There needs to be some narrative structure or hook that keeps you awake. Sadly, I didn't find one before Izzzzzzzzzzz

cspiwak's review against another edition

5.0

An excellent book. After an introduction to evolution and bird physiology and an overview of species, it gives information on mating, child rearing, migration, feeding and social structure. A nice mix, primarily of science, but with a bit of philosophy for good measure