Around the world, birds have been struggling to survive. But the tide is turning. This is a story about optimism.

‘A joyful, life-affirming celebration of recovery. We need to hear about these miracles. We need to know we can do it, if we try!' – Isabella Tree, bestselling author of Wilding

'Fascinating . . . a reminder of what is being done to save the world's birds – and by doing so, save us' – Stephen Moss, naturalist and bestselling author of Ten Birds That Changed the World

Across the world, scientists, conservationists and ordinary people are involved in groundbreaking work to restore billions of lost birds. Together they’re tackling the hollowing out of the springtime dawn chorus and the withering away of once-great migration multitudes.

From a tiny island off the coast of Maine to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and from a hereditary estate in England to a watery wilderness in Romania where Ukrainian air-raid sirens scream at night, birds’ fortunes are being reversed.

In The Return of the Oystercatcher, renowned natural history writer Scott Weidensaul tells the uplifting story of that success and what it means for us and for our planet, too. Because a world that works for birds, in all their complexity of movement and ecological need, will work for everything else. Including people.

Illustrated with 16 pages of colour photographs and maps
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Praise for Scott Weidensaul's A World on the Wing:

'A master storyteller' – The Guardian

'A gripping journey' – The New York Times

'Offers the astonishment of birds’ travels . . . and hope for their future' – Wall Street Journal

‘A master storyteller, Weidensaul communicates so much joy in the sheer act of witnessing and such exhilaration in the advances of the science behind what he sees that we are slow to grasp the extent of the ecological crisis that he outlines.’ Observer

Bird migration remains perhaps the most singularly compelling natural phenomenon in the world. Nothing else combines its global sweep with its inherent ability to engender wonder and excitement.

The past two decades have seen an explosion in our understanding of the almost unfathomable feats of endurance and complexity involved in bird migration – yet the science that informs these majestic journeys is still in its infancy.

Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted writer-ornithologist Scott Weidensaul is at the forefront of this research, and A World on the Wing sees him track some of the most remarkable flights undertaken by birds. His own voyage of discovery sees him sail through the storm-wracked waters of the Bering Sea; encounter gunners and trappers in the Mediterranean; and visit a forgotten corner of north-east India, where former headhunters have turned one of the grimmest stories of migratory crisis into an unprecedented conservation success.

As our world comes increasingly under threat from the effects of climate change, these ecological miracles may provide an invaluable guide to a more sustainable future for all species, including us. This is the rousing and reverent story of the billions of birds that, despite the numerous obstacles we have placed in their path, continue to head with hope to the far horizon.

Bird migration remains perhaps the most singularly compelling natural phenomenon in the world. Nothing else combines its global sweep with its inherent ability to engender wonder and excitement.

The past two decades have seen an explosion in our understanding of the almost unfathomable feats of endurance and complexity involved in bird migration – yet the science that informs these majestic journeys is still relatively in its infancy.

Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted writer and ornithologist Scott Weidensaul is at the forefront of this cutting-edge research, and A World on the Wing sees him track some of the most remarkable flights undertaken by birds around the world.

His own voyage of discovery sees him sail through the storm-wracked waters of the Bering Sea; encounter gunners and trappers in the Mediterranean; and visit a forgotten corner of northeast India, where former headhunters have turned one of the grimmest stories of migratory crisis into an unprecedented conservation success.

As our world comes increasingly under threat from the effects of climate change, these ecological miracles may provide an invaluable guide to a more sustainable future for ourselves. This is the rousing and reverent story of the billions of birds that, despite the numerous obstacles we have placed in their path, continue to head with hope to the far horizon.