Description

A beautifully illustrated celebration of one of Britain’s best-known birds: the familiar, friendly yet fiercely territorial robin – the perfect gift for nature lovers.

With its vivid orange-red breast, dark eyes and delicate song, the robin is among the most instantly recognisable visitors to our gardens. It has enchanted generations of writers and artists, inspired myths and nursery rhymes, and become an enduring emblem of Christmas, despite being one of Britain’s most aggressive small birds.

Trace the robin’s life across a calendar year: from courtship, nest-building and egg-laying to the hatching and fledging of its speckled young, then on through moulting, migration and the defence of its winter territory. Discover its feeding habits, remarkable tameness around humans, year-round song and enduring role in literature and folklore, in this essential addition to any birdwatcher’s bookshelf.

Publisher Review

Moss's prettily illustrated book is full of such curiosities. Gratifyingly, though, it steers clear of becoming a dry deluge of facts, a pitfall of so much ornithological writing... Moss, a nature broadcaster and a lecturer in creative writing, is a good storyteller, seamlessly linking biological fact with the anecdotal... There is no doubt that Moss's book, with its charming cover and quaint illustrations, will make it into many a stocking this year. Yet, this is far more than a book for Christmas. There is a serious message here. The more we learn about our favourite bird, the more we realise how much we don't know. This gulf is evidence of how we have become distanced from the natural world... Moss's charming paean to this bird that lives hard and dies young reminds us that it deserves to be more than a whimsical symbol of festive cheer -- Patrick Galbraith * The Times * Well illustrated... The structure, examining a year in the life of the Robin in the UK, allows Moss plenty of scope to bring in a huge range of historical, literary and scientific references, and the result is a highly readable and enjoyable examination of a species that probably sparks more interest in birds in the UK than any other. -- Matt Merritt * Bird Watching * A gem -- Sue Price * Saga Magazine * This unpretentious little book, with a nice retro feel, follows the life of the Robin... Stephen Moss writes seemingly easily (perhaps for him it is so), telling all you want to know about Robins in a straightforward, always enjoyable style... It is a stimulating and worthwhile read -- Rob Hume * Birdwatch *