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A Most Remarkable Creature

The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey

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A Most Remarkable Creature

Written by: Jonathan Meiburg
Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
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“Utterly captivating and beautifully written, this book is a hugely entertaining and enlightening exploration of a bird so wickedly smart, curious, and social, it boggles the mind.”—Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way

“A fascinating, entertaining, and totally engrossing story.”—David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird

An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.

“As curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent as its subject.”—Charles C. Mann, author of 1491

In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by an animal he met in the Falkland Islands: handsome, social, and oddly crow-like falcons that were "tame and inquisitive . . . quarrelsome and passionate," and so insatiably curious that they stole hats, compasses, and other valuables from the crew of the Beagle. Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it.

Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting. Americas Biological Sciences Professionals & Academics Science Travel Writing & Commentary Nonfiction Animal Science
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Every now and then a natural history book comes out that is so profound that it makes you see the world differently, this is one of them. I was expecting a natural history of a subfamily of falcons. I got that and an amazing telling of the natural history of South America through the lens of caracaras. Would recommend to ant Naturalist interested in south america

A book larger than Caracas, profound and insightful

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I wasn’t sure my attention could be held for 10 hours on the subject of this amazing bird but I was left feeling disappointed the book was over..great narration and descriptions..felt I was there..thank you!

Amazing!

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A beautiful natural history. This book changed the way I think about birds. The narration is entertaining yet calming.

Worth your time

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when the author is on point and speaking about the very interesting caracara birds this is a pretty good book. unfortunately there is a bit too much for my liking which veers away from this talking about his exploring and the other old author / naturalist.

decent book

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