Did the Cettia's Warbler inspire the opening notes of the last movement of Beethoven's Second Symphony? Who among a host of rivals wrote the best poem about the nightingale? & is a James Bond film named after a duck? Find out the answers to these ornithological conundrums & others in this engaging book that delves into literature, science, religion, fine art & popular culture to reveal how a bird can be far more than the sum of its feathered, winged & webbed parts. Worshipped as gods & damned as agents of the Devil in equal measure, birds have also fostered scientific breakthroughs & even helped provoke a war. This humorous & insightful guide is full of brilliant curios that even a magpie would envy.