Under their Wing

An evocative history charting just how intimately connected humans and birds have been since we first evolved out of the trees.

Birds and humans go back a long way—350,000 years by some estimates. During this long association, birds have integrated themselves into every facet of the human experience, from the dinner table to our mythologies to our colloquialisms and the language we use to understand the natural world. Spanning oceans, continents, and eons, Under Their Wing is prolific birder Pete Dunne’s ode to our winged guides.

As the former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory and the founder of the World Series of Birding, Pete Dunne appreciates our enduring fascination with birds better than most. This elegantly composed book is both an inventory of our life with birds and an indictment of the destruction inflicted on their breeding grounds, food sources, and migratory pathways. It’s a plea for us to remember our old respect for the avians we share this world with, and to do better for them.

Under Their Wing not only celebrates birds but reveals how their surprising influences run like threads throughout human history. As Pete writes, “Were birds somehow excised from the human equation, we would hardly recognize ourselves.”

“Pete Dunne’s wisdom, wit, and storytelling shine through this inviting compendium entwined with urgent calls to care for our fraying planet. In the spirit of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Dunne speaks for the birds and for our common future.” —Marina Richie, author of Feathered Forest