Charles Darwin was a bumbling neophyte naturalist when he boarded the Beagle in 1831. Through the five years that followed, as the ship hugged the coastline of South America, Darwin found himself crawling through waist-deep mud, climbing towerlike trees in the rainforest, and scaling craggy Patagonian cliffs as he collected specimens and closely observed the relationship between the creatures he stalked and the astonishing, utterly unfamiliar landscapes where he found them. What happened to Darwin? That's the question Lyanda Lynn Haupt compellingly explores in a narrative that puts us inside...

There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both a sign of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. CROW PLANET is a call to experience the wildlife in our midst, reminding us that we don't have to head to faraway places to encounter "nature." Even in the cities and suburbs where we live we are surrounded by wildlife such as crows. Through observing them we enhance our appreciation of the world's natural order, and find our own place in it.

Haupt, a trained naturalist, uses science, scholarly research, myth, and personal...

On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky young bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For three years, the starling lived with Mozart, influencing his work and serving as his companion, distraction, consolation, and muse.
Two centuries later, starlings are reviled by even the most compassionate conservationists. A nonnative, invasive species, they invade sensitive habitats, outcompete...

A charming story of Mozart and his pet starling, along with a natural history of the bird.