Ancient Egyptians believed that the Earth began as an egg laid by a giant goose. Ojibwa people of America’s northern plains tell of a Great Flood that swept away the world’s evils, and the bird that braved the deep waters to bring a bit of soil up from the bottom to restore land at the surface. European scientists once believed that swans survived the winters by turning themselves into barnacles and adhering to the bottoms of ships, transforming back into swans in spring. These and many other tales told in Randi Minetor’s latest book, The Complete Language of Birds, bring us back to a time when birds seemed like magical beings with the answers for so many of the world’s questions.

Bestselling author Randi Minetor has written more than 90 books, including the Birdfinding and Best Easy Bird Guides series for Falcon Guides/Globe Pequot Press, and she is the author of Backyard Birding and Butterfly Gardening for Lyons Press. Her most recent book, The Complete Language of Birds, is an encyclopedia that unites classic illustrations, science, folklore, and mythology about more than 400 bird species around the world. She writes for Birding Magazine, serves as an editor of regional reports for North American Birds, and has served as president of the Rochester Birding Association.