I have read a couple of previous titles by Jessica Roux and always been wildly impressed by her beautiful illustrations, and when I saw this new title, I knew immediately that I wanted to read it.

After moving to the country (hence my blog name, The Bucolic Bookshelf), I’ve really appreciated seeing, and hearing, a ton of animals visit (or live on) our property - we have a resident chipmunk who’s lived under our front steps for the entirety of our living here, who is often seen sitting on our the steps, chirping away, we have deer who walk around our front and back yards sometimes after coming from across the street, where they live in the protected land, we have bunnies every spring, a woodchuck moved into our shed, we have teeny frogs who serenade us some evenings, and so many feathered friends, including some that I’d never seen in person before (owls, woodpeckers, wild turkeys).

I loved being able to look through this, matching some of our visitors to the gorgeous illustrations, meaning, and lore of many birds in the book.

Ornithography is an excellent choice for any bird lovers in your life.



Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the PDF

Much like her former book Floriography, Ornithography is beautifully illustrated and interesting to read! Some of the legends I knew and others I didn't. I just wish there was more details. The notes on each bird are very short.

As someone who enjoys birdwatching and majored in Wildlife Biology in college, this book immediately grabbed my attention. I am a big believer in signs from the universe, so I was excited to learn the meanings and folklore behind some of my favorite species. Off the bat, the drawings are phenomenal. I especially liked that each drawing was representative of the lore behind each species. Having both the common name and scientific name for each species was a nice touch. I think this would be a great gift for someone just starting out in ornithology, wildlife biology, ecology or a similar field. I studied Wildlife Biology during college, and would have been THRILLED to receive a book like this. My favorite lores were that of the cassowary, cormorant, eagle, hummingbird, loon, stonechat, and the thrush!

Overall, it was very apparent that a great deal of time and research went into writing this book, and as a reader, this made me appreciate the content and the author's effort so much more.

A mix of facts about birds, myths, and stories from around the world - I like that birds from all continents are represented and stories from indigenous cultures feature heavily. I'm not sure I understood the "meaning" of each bird, since it's often based on only one story from one culture, but I would just not put too much weight on that aspect of the book. The illustrations are cute, naive, and sometimes medieval-looking (but kind of sad that pet birds were drawn with their feet chained up somehow, perhaps to make it look more 'old-timey'). I would have also liked a little habitat map or information on where each bird can be found.

I'd say this makes for a lovely little gift for the bird people in your life!

Thank you to Jessica Roux, Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book combines gorgeous illustrations and short but insightful texts about birds and the lore that make up their Meaning.
Even though the texts are short, the reader gets an insight into cultural and historical tales of each bird.
The beautiful illustrations of each bird have a semi realistic look and remind of old vintage books. Overall this book is great for people who love seeing a bit more meaning in everyday life.

Okay, first things first, just look at that cover! I mean, seriously, it’s stunning. The moment I saw it, I knew this book was going to be something special, and it totally delivered.

This book dives into the lore and quirky facts about birds, and I was hooked. Did you know that canaries are so sensitive to poisonous gas that they used to be taken into coal mines as an early warning system? Or that doves have been symbols of love for centuries, and there’s actually a really interesting reason behind it? The book is packed with these little gems of knowledge, and I found myself fascinated by every page.

But it’s not just the facts that make this book shine, the illustrations are out of this world. Seriously, they’re beyond beautiful, adding so much to the experience. Every page feels like a piece of art.

Huge shoutout to the author and publisher for the advance copy. This was such a fun and visually stunning read. If you’re into birds or just love a beautifully crafted book, you’ve got to check this one out!

4.5/5 stars rounded up

This is a beautifully illustrated book with birds, their meaning and mythology. I especially like the Osprey, Magpie, and Chickadee drawings. It was nice to see myths from many different countries and cultures.

With stories from all over the world, this would make an excellent gift as a coffee table book.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!) and all opinions are my own.

What a beautiful reference book! The illustrations look to be done in watercolor and they are just gorgeous! The details for each species was very well done. I enjoyed the background and lore of each one.

A beautiful book with stunning illustrations and packed with information. This was a lovely look to read accompanied by Roux's gorgeous works of art. I appreciated that there is a variety of resources that the author pulled from (Greek, Chinese, Christianity, Native American, and also general idioms) to assign these birds meanings and give a quick overview.