The Life of the Robin, by David Lack
The Life of the Robin, by David Lack
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Paperback – 130 x 190 mm – 320 pages
21 illustrations by Robert Gillmor
ISBN 9781843681304
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A landmark in the literature of natural history
The first biography of an animal ever written
Written by Britain’s most influential ornithologist
New introduction and postscripts
The Robin has long been Britain’s favourite bird, a friendly presence in thousands of gardens, year round. Yet its life was hardly understood when David Lack – who as been called Britain’s most influential ornithologist – started his scientific observations of robins while a schoolteacher at Dartington Hall.
It was Lack who established that robins sing to defend their territory; that males will fight to the death but will also feed injured opponents; that couples will court and mate but then ignore each other; that most robins will die in any given year.
Lack’s approachable style, sharpened with an acute wit, reads as freshly today as when it was first written.
Includes new texts by David Lindo, the Urban Birder, David Harper, the doyen of robin studies today, and Peter Lack, the author’s son.
