RSPB Spotlight Sparrows

by Amy-Jane Beer

Overview

RSPB Spotlight: Sparrows is packed with eye-catching, informative color photos of these beloved birds and features succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist.

Sparrows are often considered familiar to the point of invisibility, but the recent steep decline in numbers of both native British species is a reminder that these unassuming chatterboxes deserve a little more attention.

Of all the true sparrow species found worldwide, only two occur in the British Isles: the House Sparrow and the Tree Sparrow. Globally, the story of the House Sparrow is one of dramatic expansion from humble origins in the Middle East; while the smaller, more active Tree Sparrow has also spread extensively. Both species have been heavily persecuted to surprisingly little effect until recent years.

In Spotlight Sparrows, Amy-Jane Beer examines the causes behind the recent decline of these familiar species, and explores their biology and life cycle, social behavior, and the significant role that sparrows play in human culture, from classical civilization to Shakespeare, Edith Piaf, and Captain Jack Sparrow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472955937
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/22/2019
Series:	RSPB
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Dr Amy-Jane Beer is a biologist turned naturalist and writer. She has worked for more than 20 years as a science writer and editor, contributing to more than 40 books on natural history. She is currently a Country Diarist for The Guardian, a columnist for British Wildlife and a feature writer for BBC Wildlife magazine, among others. She campaigns for the equality of access to nature and collaboration between farming and conservation sectors. She sits on the steering group of the environmental arts charity New Networks for Nature and the land rights campaign RightToRoam.org.uk, and is honorary President of the national park society Friends of the Dales. Her book The Flow won the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Meet the Sparrows

Global Citizens

Sparrow Bodies

Daily Dramas

It Takes Two

Circle of Life

Sparrows in Culture

From Persecution to Conservation