No other bird is quite so ever-present and familiar, so embedded in our culture, as the robin. With more than six million breeding pairs, the robin is second only to the wren as Britain’s most common bird. It seems to live its life alongside us, in every month and season of the year. But how much do we really know about this bird?In The Robin Stephen Moss records a year of observing the robin both close to home and in the field to...

Swallow and starling, puffin and peregrine, blue tit and blackcap. We use these names so often that few of us ever pause to wonder about their origins. What do they mean? Where did they come from? And who created them?The words we use to name birds are some of the most lyrical and evocative in the English language. They also tell incredible stories: of epic expeditions, fierce battles between rival ornithologists, momentous...

From a BBC producer and award-winning birder, a guide to the unusual birds that soar over cities around the world.From frigatebirds wheeling over Rio de Janeiro to bowerbirds displaying in the suburbs of Canberra, penguins in Cape Town to pelicans in San Francisco, and huge flocks of starlings roosting around the Colosseum in Rome, the world's cities are home to a remarkable array of feathered citizens.Through Stephen Moss's expert knowledge and insight, ...

'BEAUTIFULLY, A BOOK ABOUT BIRDS' The Sunday Times | 'ENGAGING AND EYE-OPENING' The CountrymanUncover the life of owls through this beautiful guide to these secretive and charismatic birds from the bestselling author of The Robin, The Wren, and The Swan.Owls are among the most mysterious birds in the world. Their hauntingly beautiful calls and mostly nocturnal habits have long ca...

This journey through the world of birdwatchers is "a wonderful book. . . . fascinating, often hilarious anecdotes and information" ( Daily Mail, Critic's Choice).Scholarly, authoritative, and above all supremely readable, Stephen Moss's book is the first to trace the fascinating history of how and why people have watched birds for pleasure, from the beginnings with Gilbert White in the eighteenth century through World War II POWs watching birds from inside ...

‘Stephen Moss delights once more - lyrical and informative by turns, he conjures - with breathless eloquence - another feathered beauty of our skies.’ Benedict Allen'An engrossing compilation of ornithological tidbits, cultural anecdotes, literary quotes and well chosen historical artwork’ BBC Wildlife, *Books of the Year*Uncover the life of starlings through this beautiful guide to these majestic ...

'A superb naturalist and writer.'CHRIS PACKHAM'From Stone Age remains to modern day skyscrapers, Stephen Moss takes us on an exhilarating journey through place and time, providing a fascinating insight into nature's relationship with environments created by man.'DR MYA-ROSE CRAIG (BIRDGIRL)Welcome to The Accidental Countryside.This is the fascinating and remarkably empowering story of our infl...

Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the Festive Season.Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off point, he explores the place of twelve fascinating British birds in our history, culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there's the swan and of course the partridge. Other chapters are loose interpretations of a verse: for drummers drumming he delves into...

Shortlisted for THE WAINWRIGHT BOOK PRIZE 2017Can Britain make room for wildlife? Stephen Moss believes it can.The newspaper headlines tell us that Britain’s wildlife is in trouble. It’s not just rare creatures that are vanishing, hares and hedgehogs, skylarks and water voles, even the humble house sparrow, are in freefall. But there is also good news. Otters have returned to the River Tyne; there are now beavers on the River Otter; and peregrines have take...

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Vibrant, fascinating, poetic - a year in living things: all the things we love, all the things we wish we could, all the little things we step over and never know - the best of British wildlife from two superb naturalists and writers' CHRIS PACKHAMFrom blackbirds, beavers and beetles to tawny owls, natterjack toads and lemon slugs. Every day of the year, winter or summer, in every corner of the Bri...

This collection of essays "gives bird enthusiasts the next best thing to birdwatching, an eloquent and insightful consideration of birds and birding" ( Publishers Weekly).Stephen Moss's collection of Guardian "Birdwatch" columns forms a fascinating picture of one man's birding life: from early coot-watching as a young boy, through teenage cycle trips to Dungeness, to adult travels around the world as a TV producer working everywhere from the Gambia...

Chess was invented more than 1,500 years ago, and is played in every country in the world. Stephen Moss sets out to master its mysteries, and unlock the secret of its enduring appeal. What, he asks, is the essence of chess? And what will it reveal about his own character along the way?In a witty, accessible style that will delight newcomers and irritate purists, Moss imagines the world as a board and marches across it, offering a mordant report on the world of chess in 64 chapters ...