Birds Up Close: An Engineer Explores Their Hidden Wonders

A renowned engineer and lifelong birder reveals the marvel of how birds work—from the tips of their beaks to the sheen of their tailfeathers.

Consider feathers: They define birds’ wings, enabling flight. They insulate against cold. They repel water. They even control sound. And how feathers work is just one aspect of the wonders of birds explained by pathbreaking researcher and birder Lorna Gibson in Birds Up Close.

Feathers, bones, bills, eggs, flight: all come in for scrutiny in this engaging book. What produces the iridescence of plumage? How does the internal structure of a bird’s bones make them lightweight? How do different birds use their bills and tongues—from woodpeckers penetrating the holes they drill to hummingbirds imbibing nectar, to sandpipers needling the sand, and to phalaropes drawing water droplets containing plankton into their mouths without sucking (no lips!)?

Drawing on her expertise and personal experience in both engineering and ornithology, the author explores the hidden microscopic structures and engineering principles that keep birds aloft and alive—how an egg is formed, how a bird generates lift; how raptors soar and glide, albatrosses fly thousands of miles, hummingbirds hover, puffins and penguins “fly” underwater. She also considers the longer view of birds in their habitats and natural history. Her up-close look at avian mysteries provides a perspective like no other for the expert ornithologist and curious observer alike.

Includes over 150 full-color illustrations.

"Watching a bird in flight is amazing enough, but to really grasp how extraordinary birds are, let Lorna Gibson take you deep inside them—inside their bones, their feathers, their eggshells, though X-rays and scanning electron microscopes — to understand why she’s in awe of the evolutionary forces that have crafted in birds miracles not just of flight, but of material science and engineering, her specialties."—Scott Weidensaul, author of Return of the Oystercatcher

"Professor Gibson invites us to marvel at birds anew, unpacking the astonishing adaptations behind the creatures we love. Her lively explorations show why they so deserve our astonishment, growing ever more remarkable the better we understand their inner workings."—Irby Lovette, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Director