Corvus - by Esther Woolfson (Paperback)

About the Book

Ever since her daughter rescued a fledgling rook years ago, Esther Woolfson has been fascinated with corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies, and ravens. Today, the rook, named Chicken, is a member of the Woolfson family, along with a talking magpie named Spike, a baby crow named Ziki, a starling, a parrot, and others. From their elaborate bathing rituals to their springtime broodiness and tendency to cache food in the most unlikely places, these corvids share a bond with humans that one might never have imagined before reading this book.
Letting her experience speak for itself, Woolfson likens the fears and foibles of corvids to those of humans, taking into account the science of bird intelligence, evolution, song, and flight. She highlights their big personalities and capacity for affection: Chicken hates computers and machines, while she loves evening neck scratches on Woolfson's knee. It is through this intimate lens that Woolfson invites us to reconsider the kind of creature capable of being man's best friend.

Book Synopsis

"A satisfying read from a masterful stylist, this will appeal to any fan of nature writing or personal essays." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Ever since her daughter rescued a fledgling rook several years ago, Esther Woolfson has been fascinated with corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies, and ravens. Today, the rook, named Chicken, is a member of the Woolfson family along with a talking magpie named Spike, a baby crow named Ziki, a starling, a parrot, and others. From their elaborate bathing rituals to springtime broodiness and their tendency to stash food in the most unlikely places, these corvids share bonds with Woolfson that would have been considered rare, if not impossible, before.

Letting her experience speak for itself, Woolfson likens the fears and foibles of corvids to those of humans, taking into account the science of bird intelligence, evolution, song, and flight. She highlights their big personalities and capacity for affection: Chicken hates computers and machines, while she loves evening neck scratches on Woolfson's knee. It is through this intimate lens that Woolfson invites us to reconsider what creatures can be human's best friend.

"Woolfson shares a house with a host of free-ranging birds who cache bits of brie and raw squid in jean cuffs and under rugs, who excavate holes in the kitchen wall, and who, ahem, are decidedly not housebroken. But are these lifestyles really so peculiar? Should we not applaud them?" --Orion Magazine

"What makes Woolfson's memoir such enjoyable reading (even for the non-birdobsessed) is that she is funny and knows it's rather crazy to have a magpie, crow, starling or, more significantly, a rook named 'Chicken' running about your house." --Bookslut

Review Quotes

Praise for Corvus

"A satisfying read from a masterful stylist, this will appeal to any fan of nature writing or personal essays." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Woolfson shares a house with a host of free-ranging birds who cache bits of brie and raw squid in jean cuffs and under rugs, who excavate holes in the kitchen wall, and who, ahem, are decidedly not housebroken. But are these lifestyles really so peculiar? Should we not applaud them?" --Orion Magazine

"What makes Woolfson's memoir such enjoyable reading (even for the non-birdobsessed) is that she is funny and knows it's rather crazy to have a magpie, crow, starling or, more significantly, a rook named 'Chicken' running about your house." --Bookslut

About the Author

Esther Woolfson was brought up in Glasgow and studied Chinese at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edinburgh University. She is the author of Corvus: A Life with Birds, which is also published by Counterpoint. She has won prizes for her nature writing and received a Scottish Arts Council Travel Grant and a Writer's Bursary.