Birds play a vital part in the complex web of life on Earth -- scavenging, hunting, seed-sowing, fertilising the earth and delighting mankind with their beauty, while challenging us with their incredible ability to navigate the skies. In alphabetical order, Julia Pinkham describes and illustrates with fine line drawings many of the birds that inhabit the earth. Beginning with Amazon parrots and antpittas, she proceeds through gannets and grebes, manakins and merganser ducks, umbrella birds, yellow warblers and zenaida doves. The text gives concise descriptions with geographical locations, habits and customary colouration. The drawings -- as always is true of Julie Pinkham's work -- are handsome as black and white designs, but no child will be able to resist colouring them.