Winged Wonders: A Celebration of Birds in Human History

This lighthearted miscellany is devoted to some of the birds that have inspired the human imagination through the ages. The authors discuss the characteristics of 16 familiar species and present intriguing stories gleaned from avian legends, poems, songs, nursery rhymes, religious stories and folktales from around the world. One learns why the eagle is a symbol of imperial power, the goose is sacred to certain gods, the ostrich is believed (mistakenly) to bury its head in the sand, the peacock and the pelican are symbols of resurrection, and the game of mah-jongg derives its name from the Chinese word for sparrow. There are morsels of information about everything from falconry and cockfighting to the origin of the Mother Goose tales. The book concludes with a brief history of birds in book illustration and a paean to the beauty of birdsong, with a list of musical compositions it has inspired. Although the authors are British—Watkins (A Book of Animals ) is a vicar in West London, and Stockland is a former deputy director of education at Oxfam (Great Britain)—they include in their affectionate exploration of avian-human relations a chapter on America's state birds. 26 illus. (Oct.)