Living with Birds: The true story of one woman’s extraordinary relationship with wild birds - Hardcover

Howard, Len

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1784879355 ISBN 13: 9781784879358

Publisher: Vintage Classics, 2025

Synopsis

Len Howard forged extraordinary relationships with the birds in her Sussex garden during the 1950s. This groundbreaking work in bird studies is also a captivating and immersive piece of nature writing.

This bird biography tells the story of one exceptional Great Tit called Star. In opening her home to wild birds, Len Howard gained their trust and made astonishing discoveries about their capabilities. Star’s character and intelligence is revealed, and with patience, consistency and sensitivity Howard even succeeds in teaching Star to count using taps of her beak.

Full of joy and wonder, as well as deep knowledge and fascinating detail, Living with Birds encompasses bird studies of all kinds including the fate of a lame fledgling, the bond between Great Tit parents and their babies and observations of migrant birds. It is also the story of how Howard succeeded in developing such an unusual relationship with the wild birds in her garden.

'Howard seems to have stood on the brink of communication with a wild bird, something till now hardly conceivable...awe-inspiring' Observer

About this title

About the Author

Len Howard (1894-1973) was a British naturalist and musician best known for her studies of birds, published as Birds as Individuals (1952) and Living with Birds (1956).

In her early life, Howard pursued a career in music in London, giving music lessons, organising concerts for the children of the poor and playing the viola professionally in an orchestra under Malcolm Sargent. In 1938, she purchased a plot of land outside the village of Ditchling, Sussex, and built the house she called Bird Cottage. There she developed an intimate and unusual relationship with the wild birds in the area, providing food (including her own war rations), chasing away predators, tending to damaged nests, and allowing the birds to fly and roost throughout her home. Her musical training gave her a unique insight into the diverse character of birdsong. Howard died at Bird Cottage in 1973.

Edition details

• Publisher: Vintage Classics
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1784879355
• ISBN 13: 9781784879358
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224