Magnificent Birds illustrated by Narisa Togo

I am quite drawn to books about birds and look at this post about The Beak Book. Perhaps this is because I do enjoy hearing the dawn chorus outside my window very early each morning and I am lucky to live near an area of bush where kookaburras, whip birds, magpies and butcher birds thrive. Very occasionally you might also see a tiny blue wren too. 

Image Source: Birdlife

Magnificent Birds is one of those large format books with vintage feel illustrations and birds from every corner of our world. There are fourteen birds in this book each presented over a double page. 

Bald Eagle - fun fact "As the only eagle native solely to North America, the bald eagle was chosen by the founders of the United States in 1782 to be the country's national bird"

Andean Flamingo - fun fact "Flamingos' naturally grey plumage is transformed bright pink by the food they eat."

Japanese Crane - fun fact "The Japanese crane is one of the rarest birds in the world. It is regarded as sacred and a symbol of luck and longevity in some parts of Asia."

Toco Toucan - fun fact The beak of a toucan is "made from keratin (the same material as human finger nails and hair). ... The Toco is the largest of all toucans."

Bar-Tailed Godwit - fun fact "To spend winter in Australia and New Zealand, the bar-tailed godwit makes the furthest non-stop flight of any bird. Flying over 11,000 km across the vast Pacific Ocean."

Australian Pelican - fun fact "The Australian pelican's eye-catching bill is the longest of any bird. It measures around 50 centimetres and the elastic throat pouch that hangs from it can stretch to hold as much as eleven litres of water."

Walker Books Blurb: From the bird-of-paradise that performs its extravagantly colourful courtship dance in the rainforest to the bar-tailed godwit that flies thousands of miles across the ocean without stopping, explore the world of magnificent birds in this beautiful gift book, created in association with the RSPB. Narisa Togo's stunning, stylish lino-cut prints capture the beauty and the drama of these wonderful winged creatures, making this a non-fiction book like no other.

You might expect this large format book to be quite expensive - I certainly did - so I was pleased to discover it for under AUS$25.

Here is the Candlewick (US) cover:

Here is another book illustrated by Japanese illustrator Narisa Togo.

And I have this beautiful book on my shopping list (yes it is another book about birds):