Believe it or not, until relatively recently no one was certain what our beloved Puffins got up to during the winter (turns out they initially skip off to Newfoundland for a few weeks). Or how deep a penguin could dive (incredibly, more than 400m, lasting over 12 minutes). Thankfully, in the past two decades technology has driven a research revolution, and small, sophisticated devices, including tiny head cameras, allow scientists to track the birds intimately.
Brooke, who has been chasing albatrosses for 40 years, has, in effect, collated the findings of his international colleagues from the past few years to construct the most up-to-date picture of how seabirds behave when we aren’t watching. It’s beautifully written, and Brooke even manages to slip in regular, loving slagging of his colleagues. For example, at one academic conference, the newest findings on the Ross’s Gull – named for “the extremely handsome James Clarke Ross in 1823” – were presented in a rap. This thin volume will appeal to novice and expert alike.
