Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 96
A Nature Book Reader
KEVIN PARR
Kevin Parr is a writer, fisherman, amateur naturalist and sometime Idler.
Birds of Prey by Glenys and Derek Lloyd
I like birds – all birds - even
gulls and corvids. In fact,
I particularly like corvids.
Ravens are quite chatty when
you get the tone right and
everyone needs a gang of
jackdaws pranking around
the rooftops and dropping
sticks down the chimney.
Birds of prey, however,
soar that little bit higher.
These are creatures of myth
and heraldry. They are the
strongest, fastest, quietest
and most agile. They can
do it all, but must do so in
the face of persecution and
misrepresentation. They sit on
the most precarious of perches
at the top of the food chain
- vulnerable to the slightest
shift beneath them.
Like any child I was
hungry for the extraordinary.
I wanted to read how a
peregrine falcon could stoop
at 200 mph and see pictures of
96
golden eagles chasing down
wolves. Wolves for goodness
sake!
In Birds of Prey, Glenys
and Derek Lloyd (pen names
apparently) delivered me the
perfect treat. My hardback
copy is just about still intact,
though the colours have
faded and the spine is beyond
the skill of any chiropractor. I
clearly loved it though – I’ve
written my name inside the
front cover five times over.
Birds of Prey remains an
easy read, with waffle-free
delivery alongside a stack
of coloured illustrations
from the hand of artist,
Ken Lilly. Some images, the
devil-eyed goshawks on
the cover for example, are
a little anthropomorphic in
expression, but the bulk are
sharp and well balanced.
Best of all, though, are the
killer statistics. A harpy eagle
