IMAGINE the world without birds. What a lesser place it would be and yet we take these creatures so much for granted.

Their songs and the ability to fly are treasured attributes as they seem to unite heaven and earth and yet many species are seen as pests or providers of food.

Throughout history man has portrayed birds, sometimes as images of Gods, as Christian symbols, observed specimens or as companions to mankind in one form or another.

In this beautiful book we see how artists have depicted birds down the centuries with a general introduction to the subject, followed by eight chapters of exquisite photographs depicting the works of art.

Each chapter has a general introduction to its subject matter, such as The Legendary Bird, The Sociable Bird and the Modern Bird, while every picture has text describing clearly and succinctly what we are looking at.

The illustrations are varied, some familiar, some less so, but each one is lovingly produced by the artist and reproduced to the standard it deserves by the publisher.

This is a most informative book on an interesting subject and more than that it is a delight to behold.

The author writes well and knowledgably on her subject as in her previous books on similar themes. Her enthusiasm for her subject matter comes across in an easy to read style and her choice of art works is enlightening.

For such a high quality book the price cannot be complained at, it is worth every penny.