The Story of Birds - by Steve Brusatte Hardcover

Book Synopsis

From the renowned paleontologist and bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, a sweeping evolutionary history of birds, from their dinosaur origins to the 10,000+ extraordinary species alive today.

Tens of billions of birds share the planet with us, an astonishingly diverse array of species that are present nearly everywhere humans call home--and many places we do not. With their flamboyant plumage, joyous dawn serenades, extraordinary aerial feats, they have captivated human imagination for millennia. Undeniably delicate creatures with hollow bones and thin skin protected by downy feathers, how did such a seemingly fragile species break the bounds of Earth and begin to fly, how have they survived millennia, and how does their legacy shape our world?
Hailed as "one of the stars of modern paleontology" (National Geographic), Steve Brusatte now tells the extraordinary story of the dinosaurs' living legacy: birds. He begins by exploring how dinosaurs gradually developed the trademark features of birds one-by-one--feathers, wings, beaks, big brains, keen senses, and warm-blooded metabolisms. He investigates why birds were the only dinosaurs to survive the cataclysmic asteroid impact 66 million years ago and chronicles how these survivors rapidly proliferated to produce the diversity of avian species we know today.
Along the way, we meet a variety of remarkable - now extinct - species:

• 10-foot-tall terror birds with beaks that sliced flesh
• Elephant birds that lived on Madagascar and laid eggs the size of footballs
• Pelagornithid seabirds with 20-foot wingspans
• A ferocious Jamaican ibis that used its wings as clubs to attack rivals

Yet, Brusatte also urges us to appreciate the extraordinariness of birds alive today - penguins that literally fly underwater, parrots that can mimic human speech and crows that can make tools and are smarter than most mammals.
A fascinating scientific history that unearths the origins of birds, The Story of Birds establishes the living legacy of this remarkable species.

Review Quotes

The palaeontologist and author of the thoroughly enjoyable The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs turns his attention to our feathery friends and their deep past. Even stranger than you imagined. - The Times, "Books to look out for in 2026"
"Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte turns to the evolutionary history of the birds, the 'dinosaurs among us.' Penguins the size of gorillas? Ducks weighing more than cows? I'm in." - New Scientist, "The Best of the Best: Four Top Picks for 2026"
"Steve Brusatte takes us on an eye-opening tour into the amazing world of birds, from their origins as the living descendants of dinosaurs to their remarkable cognitive and navigational skills. A thrilling addition to his hugely successful earlier books, The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs and The Rise and Reign of the Mammals." - Venki Ramakrishnan, 209 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Cambridge University biologist
"An authoritative and endlessly illuminating journey through the evolution of birds--from their dinosaur roots in the Triassic to the hummingbird at your feeder. As one of the world's top paleontologists, as well as one of the finest science communicators working today, no one is better positioned to tell this epic and surprising story than Steve Brusatte. An instant classic. Anyone interested in the story of life on Earth needs this on their bookshelf." - Peter Brannen, author of The Ends of the World and The Story of Co2 is the Story of Everything

"Dinosaurs never went extinct--they're all around us. In The Story of Birds, paleontologist Steve Brusatte traces the remarkable150-million-year journey of how small, feathered dinosaurs transformed into the more than 10,000 species of birds alive today. From the
evolution of flight to the asteroid strike that killed their giant cousins, from terror birds that ruled ancient continents to the startling intelligence of modern crows, Brusatte weaves cutting-edge science and vivid storytelling to give us breathtaking account of one
of evolution's greatest survivors. You'll never look at the world outside your window the same way again."

- Neil Shubin, University of Chicago paleontologist, bestselling author of Your Inner Fish, and President of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)

"Brimming with surprises, The Story of Birds reveals evolution as a restless tinkerer and birds as its most radical experiment. Forged in mass extinction, they rebuilt themselves--reinventing flight, reengineering their metabolism, and demonstrating that evolution is not a destination but a restless process. The Story of Birds traces that transformation across deep time, revealing how catastrophe repeatedly fueled innovation. The birds around us become living records of a history far stranger, tougher, and more inventive than we
assume. Clear, incisive, and quietly surprising, this book makes it impossible to see the natural world the same way ever again."

- Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist and author of A Quantum Life