The Story of Birds

'Steve Brusatte has a rare gift for bringing the distant past vividly and fascinatingly to life' – Bill Bryson

'Soaringly brilliant' – Alice Roberts

A New Scientist and Times most anticipated book of 2026

Billions of birds share the planet with us. With their flamboyant plumage and joyous dawn serenades, many of them are impossible to miss. But how did they get here, how did they break the bounds of Earth and begin to fly, and how does their legacy shape our world?

In delightfully energetic prose, expert palaeontologist Steve Brusatte takes us through their 150-million-year history, from their origins among small carnivorous dinosaurs to the 10,000-plus species that thrive today. Along the way, we meet fantastic birds from all around the world, some known only through fossils. There are elephant birds that stand as high as a basketball hoop and lay eggs as big as watermelons; demon ducks that weigh more than cows; aeroplane-sized seabirds that soar the world’s thermals; and predatory penguins the size of gorillas.

Lively, majestic and full of wonder, The Story of Birds will ensure you never see birds the same way again.

'The palaeontologist and author of the thoroughly enjoyable The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs turns his attention to our feathery friends and their deep past. Even stranger than you imagined' – The Times, 'Books to look out for in 2026'

'Brusatte takes us on an eye-opening tour into the amazing world of birds . . . a thrilling addition to his hugely successful earlier books' – Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize-winning author of Why We Die