Singing Like Larks: A celebration of birds in folk songs

(Paperback)

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Description

Birds are beloved for their song and have featured in our own music for centuries. Singing Like Larks opens a rare window onto birdlife, folklore, traditional verse, and song writing, especially in the British Isles.

In this charming volume, folklore, verse, and nature writing combine to explore why birds appear in so many folk songs, with song lyrics, history, and anecdotes drawing on a rich heritage. Ornithological folk songs are themselves something of a threatened species. Melodies lost in the passage of time, their lyrics tucked in archives, our awareness of birds, their song and our own traditions must be passed down from one generation to the next. Lifetimes of wisdom are etched into these songs, preserving the natural rhythms of times past and our connection to feathered friends.

A treasury of bird-related folk songs, this is also an account of one young nature writers journey into the world of folk music, and a joyous celebration of song, the seasons, and our love of birds.

Reviews

'A beautiful, informative and fascinating book. In each chapter [Millham] seamlessly blends the behaviour of the bird with its place in the history of folk song, all written in a lively and engaging style with evident passion for the subject.' -- Stephen Moss, bird writer and naturalist
'How beautiful is this lovely book' -- Folde, Dorset
'Inspiring' -- Essex Life
'Absolutely charming.' -- The Copper Family

Author Bio

Andrew Millham is a nature and folk history writer whose work has been published innational publications including BBC Wildlife, Coast and The Countryman. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in environmental science, has received a Field Studies Council Young Darwin Scholarship and after completing his training with Essex Wildlife Trust is now a Forest School leader, teaching outdoor skills to primary school children. Stephen Moss is one of Britains leading nature writers, broadcasters and wildlife television producers, specialising in birds and British wildlife. A lifelong naturalist, he is passionate about communicating the wonders of the natural world to the widest possible audience. His TV credits include Springwatch and The Nature of Britain, the author of many books, and teaches MA students at Bath Spa University.