Draft:The Story of Birds
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| Author | Steve Brusatte |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Patrick Lawlor |
| Illustrator | Cordula Marks Venters, Sarah Shelley and Todd Marshall |
| Cover artist | Todd Marshall |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Evolution of birds, paleontology, ornithology |
| Genre | Popular science |
| Publisher | Mariner Books |
| Publication date | April 28, 2026 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-334971-1 |
The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present is a 2026 popular science book by American paleontologist Steve Brusatte. It presents a chronological account of the evolution of birds, from their origins among theropod dinosaurs to the diversity of living birds.[1]
The book was published in the United States by Mariner Books on April 28, 2026.[2] A British edition was published by Picador on June 11, 2026, under the subtitle An Evolutionary History of the Dinosaurs That Live Among Us.[3]
Background and writing
[edit]Brusatte wrote The Story of Birds over several years alongside his work as a university teacher, laboratory manager, student supervisor and grant writer. In the acknowledgements, he described fitting the project around his professional and family responsibilities. His wife, Anne, a children's author and former teacher, read the complete manuscript and suggested revisions intended to make it more accessible to a general readership.[4]
Members of Brusatte's palaeontology group at the University of Edinburgh read portions or complete drafts of the book during weekly meetings, while students in his third-year palaeontology and sedimentology course commented on its opening chapters. Palaeontologist Daniel Field and members of his Cambridge research group read the complete manuscript and assisted with fact-checking its treatment of bird classification, anatomy and behaviour. Researchers associated with the "Deep Time Cognition" project reviewed the material concerning avian brains, neurons and cognition.[4]
Publication
[edit]The American hardcover edition contains 448 pages and was published with the subtitle A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present.[2] The British hardcover edition, also 448 pages, was published by Picador with a different subtitle.[3]
An audiobook narrated by Patrick Lawlor was released by Harper Audio on April 28, 2026.[5]
The first edition is illustrated throughout in black and white, combining drawings, photographs and diagrams. It contains illustrations by Cordula Marks Venters, Sarah Shelley and Todd Marshall, and photographs credited to palaeontologist Daniel Field.[6] Marshall also created the book's cover artwork.[4] The front matter includes a chronological timeline of bird evolution and a simplified phylogenetic tree showing the principal relationships between dinosaurs, early birds and the major groups of living birds.[7]
Contents
[edit]The book is structured as a chronological history of birds and their ancestors. The main text comprises a prologue, nine numbered chapters and an epilogue. A timeline of bird evolution and a bird family tree precede the prologue, while notes on sources and an index follow the epilogue.[8]
The first four chapters trace the evolutionary origin of birds among theropod dinosaurs and the gradual development of characteristics associated with birds. These include small body size, feathers, wings, eggs, flight, changes to the digestive system, adaptations for living in trees, beaks, rapid growth, endothermy and bird sounds.[9]
Chapters five to seven examine the survival of some bird lineages during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the establishment and subsequent diversification of the modern bird family tree, and the repeated loss of flight in groups including ratites and penguins.[9][1]
Chapter eight surveys extinct groups and species including terror birds, dromornithids, giant seabirds, the dodo, the passenger pigeon and the great auk. Chapter nine discusses bird intelligence, cognition, tool use, birdsong and continuing evolution among living species.[9]
The epilogue turns to the human-driven decline of bird populations, discussing threats including habitat destruction, pesticides, invasive species, climate change, domestic cats and collisions with glass. It concludes on a cautiously optimistic note, emphasizing birds' evolutionary adaptability and resilience.[9]
Reception
[edit]James Heywood, reviewing the book for the British Trust for Ornithology, gave it a highly positive assessment. He described Brusatte as one of the foremost palaeontologists working in the United Kingdom and praised his ability to make the subject exciting and engaging, as well as the book's engagement with recent research and its extensive notes. Heywood's only reservation concerned the illustrations: he suggested that additional phylogenetic diagrams and colour plates would have been useful, while noting that the book followed the same general approach as Brusatte's two preceding works.[1]
A review in The New Yorker highlighted Brusatte's use of narrative vignettes alongside accounts of fossil discoveries, describing the book as combining scientific precision with enthusiasm for birds and their evolution.[10]
Kirkus Reviews, reviewing the audiobook edition, praised Patrick Lawlor's narration and the book's explanations of flight, adaptation and the relationship between birds and dinosaurs.[5]
The book reached number ten on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list for the week ending May 2, 2026.[3]
Press coverage
[edit]In a pre-publication review and feature for The Guardian, science correspondent Nicola Davis discussed the book's account of bird evolution and its use of research on living birds to investigate the cognition and behaviour of extinct dinosaurs. She highlighted several of the animals covered in the book, including Archaeopteryx, dromornithids, the dodo and the hoatzin. Davis also noted Brusatte's concern about contemporary threats to birds, while presenting the book's conclusion as ultimately optimistic about their adaptability and evolutionary resilience.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Heywood, James (March 24, 2026). "The Story of Birds: An Evolutionary History of the Dinosaurs that Live Among Us". British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- 1 2 "The Story of Birds". HarperCollins. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "The Story of Birds". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Brusatte, Steve (2026). The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Mariner Books. pp. 363–368. ISBN 978-0-06-334971-1.
- 1 2 "The Story of Birds". Kirkus Reviews. June 16, 2026. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ↑ Brusatte, Steve (2026). The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Mariner Books. title page. ISBN 978-0-06-334971-1.
- ↑ Brusatte, Steve (2026). The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Mariner Books. pp. ix–x. ISBN 978-0-06-334971-1.
- ↑ Brusatte, Steve (2026). The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Mariner Books. pp. vii–x. ISBN 978-0-06-334971-1.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Brusatte, Steve (2026). The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0-06-334971-1.
- ↑ "Briefly Noted". The New Yorker. June 1, 2026. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
- ↑ Davis, Nicola (April 26, 2026). "Scientists believe birds' skulls hold clues to inner lives of long-extinct dinosaurs". The Guardian. Retrieved August 5, 2026.