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Roger Lederer’s "Discovering Birds" seems initially like an engaging and visually appealing exploration of the avian world, perfect for readers who are new to the subject. The author’s passion for birds shines through in the detailed descriptions, beautiful illustrations and fascinating anecdotes about bird behaviors and habitats. However, while the book is a solid introduction to birdwatching and avian biology, it falls short in addressing the foundational aspects of bird evolution in a factual and comprehensive manner.

The introductory section on the evolution of birds left much to be desired. Lederer approaches the topic with a sense of ambiguity, glossing over critical scientific details about how birds emerged from their dinosaur ancestors. Moreover, the narrative leaves room for interpretation that evolution might not have been a natural, self-driven process and the part of a broader divine purpose to ensure the earth's survivability for future species. But this was presented here as if birds themselves decided to be evolved as they are now, then on from their Dino-ancestors, like 'Archaeopteryx' (approximately 150 million years to the Late Jurassic period), 'Vorombe titan' (between 500 and 1,000 years ago, from today's time) or 'Argentavis Magnificens' (approximately 6–8 million years ago during the Late Miocene epoch). While such philosophical reflections might resonate with some readers, they detract from the book’s credibility as a scientific resource. This omission leaves aspiring readers with an incomplete understanding and creates a gap between scientific explanation and philosophical or theological perspectives.

One of the major disappointments is the author's treatment of evolutionary theory, as I already highlighted above. Instead of aligning with the widely accepted scientific consensus, Lederer hints at the idea that evolution was not the part of God's plan to make Earth survivable for future species, rather than viewing it as a un-natural process self-driven by genetic variation and not any environmental pressures. This blend of ambiguate interpretations with mere scientific discussion can confuse readers who are seeking a clear and rigorous understanding of evolutionary biology.

To quote in author's word from his work, to support my views, "pterodactyls were inelegant fliers and died out before birds evolved. Their weight was a factor. So, birds had to lose weight. How did they do that? One way was to lose those heavy jaws and rooted teeth and replace them with lightweight beaks. Then they discarded some bones, such as the abdominal ribs and the long bony tail. Other bones fused, such as those of the hand and fingers, the lower leg, and the pelvis, not only making the skeleton lighter, but stronger and more rigid." It wasn't done by birds itself but by nature's view on the art of making these birds a mere part of paleontology.

Overall, it is an enjoyable for its accessible writing and engaging focus on bird species, but readers seeking a more rigorous and fact-based discussion of bird evolution may find this book lacking. Lederer’s work, I say here, is informative but would have greatly benefited from a more balanced and factually detailed approach to evolution.

What a great book for a beginning youth birder or an adult who enjoys great photography. Informative as well as pleasurable. I have NetGalley to thank for an advanced reader copy but the opinion is m own.

I don't know about you, but for me there was something a little off about this guide to birds. I mean it starts with the archaeopteryx, as that was the first bird. But in a spotter's guide, it so seldom takes first place and I can't think why. Oh, I know what was off – the absolutely horrendous visuals. Here is an Oriental Bay Owl, with its two different kinds of leg, perched in a way contrary to all laws of gravity. The Philippine Eagle here is a thing of nightmares.

Now, some of this I am sure is a perfectly decent photo. But the rest is a guide to Photoshopping Done Badly, and unless I got an edition so early that it was full of ten-a-minute placeholder visuals I cannot equate what I saw with the credentials of the man behind it. Text-wise, we have an introduction to the idea of a bird, and then it's down to the guide, with a decent databank and a paragraph of description for each one. What I found great in a really trivial manner was the line about the meaning of the name, with the common name and Latin binomial broken down and explained. But that is nothing to persuade me to recommend this – not with those bird strike graphics, and everything else that prevents this being the child-friendly guide that it aspires to be. One and a half violet-backed starlings.

I noticed the formatting of the physical book is far superior to the galley copy so I would give it higher marks for incorporating more color and improved format choices. This is a good encyclopedia that introduces brief introductions to many lesser known birds, and accompanied by photographs. I would not categorize this as a children's book. At earliest, it might fall into middle school or a replacement for Grizmek's Animal Encyclopedia, but the writing tone is academic and the format resembles more of a coffee table book than something from the National Geographic kids press. A good book to browse and packed with information, but not one that makes most readers want to sit down and read it from cover to cover.

My sons and I enjoyed flipping through this book and perusing it. We didn't read it start to finish, as they started to lose interest when we tried to do longer sequential sittings. Instead, we just bopped around different sections and enjoyed the content and the art.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A great book about some of the amazing birds around the world.

This is a very informative book that covers but the overall history and evolution of birds and also individual species, it includes more well known birds and lesser known birds so it feels like it covers so much. I loved the art!

Fantastic book for any non-fiction fanatic or budding ornithologist.
Beautifully presented with stunning photographs and delightfully written descriptions. Thoughtful fun facts are also included with enough detail to engage young knowledge seekers, all the way up to those who are young at heart.
The book includes a technically detailed explanation of the evolutionary history of birds but then moves onto a pleasing array of specific birds today. This includes some of everyone's favourites as well as some amazing lesser-known birds from all around the world.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

This is a must have for any bird lover or watcher. The images alone are clear and beautiful, but the written work is detailed, although a bit scientific for an relaxing read.

Overall, the book was well written, captured my attention and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance copy!

Lovely illustrations, great facts, and some fun facts about intriguing birds around the globe. I really enjoyed the short history of evolution, since it is important for children and adults alike to understand scientific facts. My favourite part was reading about interesting fun facts regarding different birds, the biggest, the smallest, the greatest divers etc. I also found it important that there were facts about birds that have gone extinct.

A stunning book filled with wonderful photos and facts about birds and how they’ve have evolved in evolution which is so important for children to learn and understand.

It's clear that the author is incredibly knowledgeable about birds, the information provided in the book is incredible. The real life photos (not illustrations) could rival those on National Geographic.

I don't really see how this is a children's book. The information is presented as though it's meant to be a high level text book or a reference book of some kind. I can't see anyone under the 12 able to access this information in a meaningful way. And even then, I would envision it used as more of a reference when you want information on a specific bird.

The book also teaches evolution, which I do not agree with.