Crab-nibbled corpse
Poor, dead, ugly bird, corpse nibbled by crabs and devoured by fish. For a stunning description of this peculiar, prehensile...
Of kingfisher colours
This description of a Halcyon Kingfisher packs a rainbow of colour metaphors, from pink to green to blue and brown. ...
Hawk-like glidings
Birds feature impressively in Williamson's minutely loving study of the life and landscape of an otter. Some are preyed upon,...
Of frantic birds and free human beings
A withering riposte to any attempt at ensnarement or wing-clipping. Mr. Rochester tries to bind Jane to him but soon...
Red-legged falcons
Assuming this to be the red-footed falcon (falco vespertinus), I found this photo. Leigh Fermor spots them around the remains...
A lyre-bird among carrion-crows
Well, if you're going to outshine your peers, let it be by such a striking margin. Here Leigh Fermor is...
Briars and birds
Trying to think what species of birds would yield a rainbow of wings, in England. Robins, blue-tits and finches, perhaps.
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Tide-rippled sea
Nicolson's book is as much about the sea as the land, and the tidal pull it exerted for centuries on...
A peep of chickens
'Peep' is for chicks, surely, but when they grow up, it doesn't quite work. How about instead: a haggle of...
A herd of curlew
The first time I have come across 'herd' as a collective noun for a bird. Curlews are large wading birds...
Bird-loving Chinese
Lovely poetic sound, and I wonder what prompted Leigh Fermor to describe the Chinese in such terms as I am...
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