📗 Libro en inglés THE CURIOUS LIFE OF THE CUCKOO

The perfect gift for nature lovers in this beautifully illustrated small format hardback John Lewis Stempel delves into the cuckoo s unique behaviour and captivating role in our cultural imagination in folklore myth literature and music turning his exquisite prose to one of the strangest tales of the countryside Is there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo It is invariably heard and not seen And if seen it is mistaken for a sharp winged hawk The female cuckoo by a trick that borders on alchemy is able to disguise its egg as another s In Greek myth the god Zeus assumed the form of a cuckoo to seduce Hera But we forgive the cuckoo its con artistry because it is the true herald of spring It is the bird that uplifts our wintered hearts with that first two note cuk koo unmistakable as it sounds across the country In The Curious Life of the Cuckoo John Lewis Stempel explains one of nature s greatest enigmas in vivid lyrical prose and celebrates this iconic bird That John Lewis Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation is undisputed Country Life His immense patient powers of observation along with a flair for the anthropomorphic mean he is able to offer a portrait of animal life that s rare in its colour and dr