Sparrow / Kim Todd.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Todd, Kim, 1970-

Series:

Animal (Reaktion Books)

Animal

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sparrows.

Sparrows--Ecology.

Sparrows--Social aspects.

Sparrows--Symbolic aspects.

Sparrows in literature.

Birds in art.

Introduced birds.

Bird pests.

Urban animals.

Human-animal relationships.

Physical Description:

192 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 19 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : Reaktion Books, 2012.

Summary:

Innocent, invader, lover, thief Sparrows wear many guises, and they are everywhere. Able to live in the Arctic and the desert, and in cities from Beijing to San Francisco, the house sparrow is the most widespread wild bird in the world.

In this book, award-winning science and natural history writer Kim Todd explores the bird's complex history, biology and literary tradition. Old World sparrows, like the house sparrow, can nest in a garage or an airport, while New World sparrows often stake their claim to remote islands or meadows in the high Sierra. The nineteenth-century 'Sparrow War' in the USA (a battle over the sparrow's introduction) set the stage for decades of invasive species debate, while in the 1950s Mao Zedong began a catastrophic programme to eradicate the bird in China. And although studies of house sparrows have taught us about topics from evolution to .adultery, their recent decline in cities globally remains an ornithological mystery. Richly illustrated, this is an unforgettable exploration of the natural and cultural history of a beloved, reviled and ubiquitous bird. Book jacket.

Contents:

Little brown jobs

Sold for two farthings

Dead and dirty birds

The sparrow war

The fall of a sparrow in Providence

Inheriting the earth.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 168-183) and index.

ISBN:

9781861898753

1861898754

OCLC:

714726359