The Swallow
A Biography (Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Bookshop Literary Award)
Published on 29. October 2020
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-5291-1026-5 (ISBN)
Description
From the bestselling author of The Robin, The Wren and The Twelve Birds of Christmas.
With around 700,000 breeding pairs, the swallow is one of the most familiar birds in Britain. Though we consider the swallow to be 'our' bird, we also share this beloved creature with millions of others across the globe. Whilst we see it on a daily basis for half the year, the swallow then flies south to Africa, living on only in our memory in the long, dark winter.
In The Swallow Stephen Moss documents a year of observing the swallow close to home and in the field to shed light on the secret life of this extraordinary bird. We trace the swallow's life cycle and journey, including the epic 12,000-mile round trip it takes every year, to enable it to enjoy a life of almost eternal sunshine, and the key part the swallow plays in our traditional and popular culture.
With beautiful illustrations throughout, this captivating year-in-the-life biography reveals the hidden secrets of this charismatic and beautiful bird.
PRAISE FOR STEPHEN MOSS:
'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham
'Inspired, friendly and blessed with apparently limitless knowledge' Peter Marren
'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail
With around 700,000 breeding pairs, the swallow is one of the most familiar birds in Britain. Though we consider the swallow to be 'our' bird, we also share this beloved creature with millions of others across the globe. Whilst we see it on a daily basis for half the year, the swallow then flies south to Africa, living on only in our memory in the long, dark winter.
In The Swallow Stephen Moss documents a year of observing the swallow close to home and in the field to shed light on the secret life of this extraordinary bird. We trace the swallow's life cycle and journey, including the epic 12,000-mile round trip it takes every year, to enable it to enjoy a life of almost eternal sunshine, and the key part the swallow plays in our traditional and popular culture.
With beautiful illustrations throughout, this captivating year-in-the-life biography reveals the hidden secrets of this charismatic and beautiful bird.
PRAISE FOR STEPHEN MOSS:
'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham
'Inspired, friendly and blessed with apparently limitless knowledge' Peter Marren
'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail
Reviews / Votes
A delight * Choice *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 205 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
451 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-1026-5 (9781529110265)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Stephen Moss
The Swallow
A Biography (Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Bookshop Literary Award)
E-Book
10/2020
Vintage Digital
€14.99
Available for download
Person
Stephen Moss is a naturalist, author and broadcaster. 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 Owl, The Wren, The Robin, The Twelve Birds of Christmas, The Swallow and The Swan. He is the outgoing President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust and a Visting Research Fellow at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he now lives with his wife and children on the Somerset Levels.