Un encuentro con las aves

This book takes us from the first contacts between prehistoric man and birds, to the most recently discovered species.

Did you know that the famous “penacho” of Montezuma has half a million quetzal feathers and is worth fifty million dollars? That James bond is really a 20th c. ornithologist? Than the person who has seen the most birds in the world holds the record of 8,600 species? Or that birds are an exceptionally accurate indicator of climate change?

These and many other curiosities are to be found in this highly readable book, with its high quality illustrations by Damián Retamar. Ornithological discoveries by both Spaniards and foreigners are treated here, along with the most dramatic environmental crises in which birds were the victims and where volunteer workers played a decisive role.  Here readers will also find an analysis of Spain’s birds and the principal threats to them, conservation proposals, the main destinations for ornithological tourism as well as larger themes such as migration, flight, wintering and illegal trade.