Under Their Wing - by Pete Dunne (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A human history of birds--charting how our lives have been intimately connected with these winged creatures since we first evolved out of the trees

From the ancient Egyptian mummified ibises to Yankee Doodle's famous feathered cap, to the more obscure Arm and Hammer Company bird cards tucked within boxes of baking soda, this book charts our ongoing fascination with birds for thousands of years.

Pete Dunne--one of the most celebrated and recognized birders in North America--doesn't shy away from the ugly parts of this history, from the astonishing numbers of avian fatalities as they attempt to migrate through a host of dangerous manmade obstacles twice a year, to the section he's called the "hall of shame" which covers the species we've made extinct in North America, to "Your Bird Neighbors" where he inventories the birds currently declining or facing extinction.

Throughout, Dunne reminds us that as we are the problem, we can and must be the solution to protecting our avian kin and continuing to celebrate them and partner with them as we have throughout human history. This book is for history lovers, as well as for birders who will enjoy coming across their favorite species in new and surprising places throughout our shared time on this planet.

Review Quotes

"Pete Dunne's wisdom, wit, and storytelling shine through this inviting compendium entwined with urgent calls to care for our fraying planet. He skillfully renders cold facts--like three billion birds lost since 1970--into warm-blooded, feathered, and miraculous beings we care about--Wood Thrush. Bobolink. Bank Swallow. In the spirit of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Dunne speaks for the birds and for our common future."
--Marina Richie, author of Halcyon Journey and Feathered Forest

"Endowed with an encyclopedic knowledge of avian history melded with years of experience in field observation, Pete Dunne brings the relationships between birds and humans full circle. From early religions graced with a mystical fascination with birds, he moves smoothly on to our modern society that vacillates between causing their decline and saving species on the brink of extinction. The book educates us about the myriad ways birds influence our lives, and vice versa. With the turning of each page, a diversity of topics, species, organizations, and ornithologists are uncovered, giving us new awareness of birdlife previously taken for granted. Whether the reader is an experienced birder or a novice delving into this subject for the first time, Dunne weaves a captivating web that draws us into his world. An essential addition to the annals of bird literature."
--Tina Morris, author of Return to the Sky

"Pete Dunne is a grandmaster of birding! His wisdom lights up this book. I absorbed all kinds of fascinating tidbits and found myself searching for collectible bird cards on eBay. Dunne's observations about changing bird populations are especially eye-opening. All birders should be familiar with Pete Dunne's writing as part of our literary canon--and this book is a worthy, timely addition to his oeuvre."
--Noah Strycker, associate editor, Birding magazine; author of Birding Without Borders

"Pete Dunne is a giant in the birding world and one of my ornithological heroes. His plea to act on conservation before it is too late is irrefutable. Our relationship with birds is still unfolding. Without birds in our world, there is no world."
--David Lindo, a.k.a. The Urban Birder; vice president, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

"Dunne is a master at telling a good story...interesting [and] optimistic."
--Booklist (Starred review)

About the Author

Pete Dunne is among the most appreciated bird book authors in the United States. He is also the founder of the World Series of Birding, as well as the former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory, Birding Ambassador for the New Jersey Audubon Society, and former publisher of New Jersey Audubon magazine. He has written for all of the major American birding publications, including Birder's World, Birding, Bird Watcher's Digest, and WildBird, as well as in The New York Times. In 2001, he received the Roger Tory Peterson Award from the American Birding Association for lifetime achievement in promoting the cause of birding.