Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names - Hardcover

Moss, Stephen

  • 3.89 out of 5 stars
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9781783350902: Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1783350903 ISBN 13: 9781783350902
Publisher: Guardian Faber Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

We use names so often that few of us ever pause to wonder about their origins. What do they mean? And where did they come from?

From the common starling to the many-colored rush tyrant, the names we have given to birds are some of the most vivid and evocative words in the English language. They can carry whole stories – of arctic expeditions, pitched battles between rival ornithologists or touching romantic gestures.

Through fascinating encounters with the bird kingdom and the rich cast of characters responsible for coming up with their names, in Mrs Moreau’s Warbler Stephen Moss shows how these words reveal as much about ourselves and our relationship with the natural world as about the creatures they describe.

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About the Author

Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

From the Back Cover

Cuckoo, chiffchaff and kittiwake: just three of many names based on the bird's sound.

Wheatear: nothing to do with ears of wheat, but the Anglo-Saxon for "White-arse".

Hobby: whoe scientific name, Falco subbuteo, inspired the table-top football game.

Dartford warbler: originally found near Dartford, yet never sighted there again.

Cuddy's duck: local name for the eider, whose feathers were made into eiderdowns.

Bananaquit, festive coquette and screaming piha: the world's most unusual bird names?

Mrs Moreau's warbler: the touching love story behind the name of one of the world's rarest birds.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Guardian Faber Publishing
Publication date
2018
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1783350903
ISBN 13 
9781783350902
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
368
Rating
  • 3.89 out of 5 stars
    316 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781783350919: Mrs Moreau's Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1783350911 ISBN 13:  9781783350919
Publisher: Guardian Faber Publishing, 2020
Softcover