Product Description

Esther Woolfson's daughter rescued Chicken, a fledgling rook sixteen years ago. Amazed by their intelligence and personalities, Woolfson became fascinated by corvids. Chicken, Spike the magpie, and, most recently, Ziki the Crow, have formed sibling relationships with Woolfson's daughters and with each other; cached food in her kitchen wall and laid eggs in her living room; called to her at dawn, and perched companionably on her knee of an evening; and taught her more than she ever expected about birds and about human beings. Woolfson's account of her experiences is funny, touching and beautifully written, and gives fascinating insights into the closeness human beings can achieve with wild creatures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8158 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'Like all the best accounts of a life shared with animals (Gerald Durrell comes inevitably to mind), Corvus offers much in the way of domestic comedy ... Exquisitely written - Gallopingly readable' - Guardian 'A number of qualities make this unlikely book such a triumph. The first is the author's character, as revealed in the tone of her narrative voice - Then there is the deceptive simplicity of Woolfson's best writing - Finally though, it is her ever-present sense of fresh wonder which carries us lightly to the very last page' - Irish Times'Funny, touching and beautifully written - a fascinating insight into the closeness human beings can achieve with wild creatures'- Sunday Times

Spectator
'This book is so entertaining and intelligent'

The Daily Mail
'Woolfson possesses a sense of humour and a gift for fine writing'

Customer Reviews

Insightful and life-affirming
Corvus is an enchanting book. There is no sentimentality here - indeed, Esther Woolfson goes to rigorous lengths to avoid anthropomorphism - and yet the entire book is infused with warmth, charm and humanity, whilst the birds themselves - very much the stars of the piece - are quite wonderful. The episodic narrative, charting the author's own journey of avian experience and discovery - punctuated by digressions on topics such as birds in folklore, bird physiology, bird evolution, bird flight and bird song - is completely compelling: I could barely put it down. The expositions themselves are equally interesting, hugely informed and informing, but never daunting. Beautifully written, the prose is spare but elegant, seemingly almost taking on the metre of bird song itself. Other significant themes also run, almost imperceptibly, through the book: the art of 'seeing' and observation, the scientific method, the idea of 'North', the comfort of home and family. This is not a 'heavy' book - it first came to my attention through hearing a very brief extract on (BBC) Radio 4 - but there is great sensitivity and wisdom here. If you've ever stood at a window or sat on a bench and watched a bird walk or hop or feed or fly, then Corvus will almost certainly enrich your life and provide a fresh, new perspective the next time you see a rook, crow, magpie or one of their feathered relations. A joy from cover to cover.

Funny, informative, a must buy!!!
The main theme of Corvus is the story of a baby rook owned by the autor but it also concerns broader subjects such as natural history and wild birds.

The parts about Woolfsons pet birds are a funny and touching potrait of a family and their pets, a little remeniscent of "my family and other animals".

The parts about natural history are more serious and require concentration but well worth it particularly the parts discussing birds relationship to dinosaurs.

I really loved this and hope that Esther Woolfson writes more of the same.

Brilliant writing - subtle and effective
Maybe Robert Macfarlane and Jay Griffiths should be forced to read this book, because without a single overdressed metaphor, without a single unnecessary word of any kind, it tells a series of subtle, clear and profoundly moving stories. It's a delight to meet Spike, and Chicken, and the other birds who soar and wing through the pages, the rhythmical, shapely pages. Envy! I wish I'd written this. Observation wonderful. Interesting that birds are so despised. I read this because having kept chickens I've also come to know and feed jackdaws and rooks, and all three kinds of bird are so bright and so interesting that I simply can't see why we once despised them. I shall read the sequel, if any.