John Lister-Kaye
Pegasus Books, August 2015
To ancient civilizations, birds were harbingers of the seasons, winged soothsayers, even messengers from the underworld, sent above to sow death among the living. These days, we may have a more complete biological and ecological understanding of our avian planet-mates, but observing the rhythms and habits of birds can still engender lyrical musings, especially at the hand of British naturalist John Lister-Kaye.
In Gods of the Morning, Lister-Kaye distills his three-decade-long residence in idyllic Aigas, the impressive, centuries-old hunting lodge and grounds where he founded Scotland’s first field studies center. There, the author communed with nature, with birds—blackcaps, ospreys, swans, and tawny owls among them—as his inspiration. “Birds have been at the heart of my work and my life,” he writes. “So much more visible than mammals, they are my gods of the morning, lifting our days with song and character.” Even more importantly, ...
