Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris: on birds, wonder and loss

A great thinning of the skies is underway. Around 50% of bird species are in decline worldwide. Our dawns and springs are quieter each year than the last. It does not have to be this way — but we will not save what we do not love.

Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’s two books of poetry and art, The Lost Words and The Lost Spells, are a cultural phenomenon: international bestsellers adapted into film, music, art, sculpture, and dance.

Now they have come together again to create The Book of Birds: A Field Guide that asks not ‘what is that bird?’ but ‘who is that bird?’, showing us not only how to identify birds, but how to identify with them.

In this live, on-stage event, Robert and Jackie will celebrate the ‘Seven Wonders’ that together make up the everyday miracle of ‘Bird’: Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight, and Migration.

And, accompanied by Jackie’s exhilarating watercolour paintings, Robert will evoke the habits and habitats of Britain’s birds — their patterns of flight and song, how they hunt and gather, how they nest and raise their young, the stories and myths which attend them, the threats which shadow them, and how their wild lives intersect with our own.

Booking information

To book tickets, please visit the How To Academy website.

This event has not been organised by the Society. If you have any questions or require assistance with your booking please contact the event organiser via contact@howtoacademy.com

Accessibility at our events

We want everyone to feel welcome at our events. Key accessibility features of this event include:

• Step-free access to the event
• Accessible toilets
• Assistance dogs are welcome
• Hearing loop

For full details, please visit our accessibility page. If you have any questions or specific access requirements, feel free to get in touch with us on access@rgs.org