The Story of Birds

Brusatte is at the top of his game … This excellent book captures not just the extraordinary heritage of the birds, but the sheer wonder of their existence * The Sunday Times *
Expertly traces the story of how feathers, wings and egg-laying evolved, what happened when birds took flight and how they developed keen senses and diversified into the range of birds we know today * Literary Review *
Excellent and sometimes startling … combine[s] a rigorous account of the science with a readable narrative … an unqualified success from beginning to end * New Scientist *
[An] enjoyable tour of evolutionary science * Financial Times *
Steve Brusatte has a rare gift for bringing the distant past vividly and fascinatingly to life – Bill Bryson, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything
Soaringly brilliant … a fascinating, scintillating flight through the history and biology of some of the most incredible creatures on our planet … a tour de force – Alice Roberts, Sunday Times bestselling author of Crypt
The palaeontologist and author of the thoroughly enjoyable The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs turns his attention to our feathery friends and their deep past. Even stranger than you imagined * The Times, books to look out for in 2026 *
Steve Brusatte takes us on an eye-opening tour into the amazing world of birds, from their origins as the living descendants of dinosaurs to their remarkable cognitive and navigational skills. A thrilling addition to his hugely successful earlier books, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Rise and Reign of the Mammals – Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize-winning author of Why We Die
An authoritative and endlessly illuminating journey through the evolution of birds – from their dinosaur roots in the Triassic to the hummingbird at your feeder. As one of the world’s top paleontologists, as well as one of the finest science communicators working today, no one is better positioned to tell this epic and surprising story than Steve Brusatte. An instant classic. Anyone interested in the story of life on Earth needs this on their bookshelf – Peter Brannen, author of The Story of Co2 is the Story of Everything
Brusatte weaves cutting-edge science and vivid storytelling to give us a breathtaking account of one of evolution’s greatest survivors – Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish
What a sensational book! Crisp, gripping, science writing at its very best. If you love birds, you will love this captivating story of how they came to be – Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds
Brimming with surprises, The Story of Birds reveals evolution as a restless tinkerer and birds as its most radical experiment … The birds around us [are] living records of a history far stranger, tougher, and more inventive than we assume. Clear, incisive, and quietly surprising, The Story of Birds makes it impossible to see the natural world the same way ever again – Hakeem Oluseyi, author of A Quantum Life
A brilliant history of how birds evolved, with an astonishing insight on every page – Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds That Changed the World
Hold the front page – dinosaurs did NOT go extinct! They are all around us, and there are more of them than ever. They tweet! They squawk! They trill! They coo! They cluck! They shriek! Yes, they are the birds, and in The Story of Birds Steve Brusatte tells their amazing story with enthusiasm and brio – Henry Gee, author of the award-winning A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth
[This] origin story of birds is exciting … natural history writing at its best * Times Literary Supplement *

Professor Steve Brusatte is a palaeontologist on the faculty of the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He grew up in the Midwestern United States and has a BSc in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago, MSc in Palaeobiology from the University of Bristol, and PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Columbia University in New York.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.