The Return of the Oystercatcher : Saving Birds to Save the Planet

From the New York Times bestselling author.

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

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