Sewell - The big bird spot: a globe-trotting bird-spotting adventure

Do you love nature and observing wildlife? Have you ever dreamed of roaming the globe to see the amazing birds that live in each habitat? Well get ready to travel with this book from meadows and woodlands to deserts and mountains, youll visit them all. All kinds of bird life are hidden in these pages, but its harder than you think birds are good at hiding and camouflaging themselves; they have to be, to avoid predators and to catch prey.

On each double-page spread youll be taken to a different part of the world, given a picture and description of the birds youll be looking for and left to search the landscape. So what are you waiting for? Grab your passport and start spotting our feathered friends! And while youre scanning the pages, can you also find the binoculars that an absent-minded bird spotter has left on each spread? If it all gets too much, the answers for birds and binoculars are at the back.

Enjoy!

Matt Sewell

In lush, flowering meadows across Europe, friendly cirl buntings love to frolic. Swaying in the long grass, nibbling on seeds and singing their hearts out from fence posts and spiky bushes, the sage green and buttery yellow bunting is a beauty of a spot.

Can you find of the little yellow fellows hidden amongst the wild flowers?

SQWAAARK is the giveaway sound when there are parakeets around. This bird is so perfectly coloured to blend in with the jungle that it is funny to think that there are now thousands of these noisy emerald parrots living in London. They dont mind the cold or traffic; in fact they seem to thrive in those conditions.

Can you spot ring-necked parakeets in the dense tropical undergrowth?

Up on the wild sea cliffs, hidden amongst guillemots and their puffin cousins, you can find the dovekie, otherwise known as the little auk. This is indeed the littlest of all the seagoing auks, and perhaps the cutest too. Which is no easy feat considering they are up against murrelets, puffins and crested auklets. They are as cute as a mermaids rubber ducky!

Can you spot little auks on and around this cliff, warming themselves in the sun after a day on the ocean?

The desert cardinal also has the tongue-twisting name of Pyrrhuloxia. This amazing bird is fond of the scrubland and deserts of North America. Here, in their reddy-pink bandit masks, they zip about catching bugs and plucking cactus fruit all day long.

Can you spot desert cardinals hidden in the mesquite thicket and saguaro cacti.

Its hard to believe that something as shiny and eye-catching as the lapwing can be a master of disguise. But nesting in rough ground on farmland and pastures the green plover is camouflaged excellently amongst the grass and stone.

Can you hear them call peewit peewit and spot all ?

With its azure crown, sapphire wing vents and sky blue tail feathers the Indian roller is a truly handsome bird. He does love to show off his colours, and quite right too. But all birds need a place to rest undisturbed sometimes, so its very handy that they can fit right in amongst the splendid palace gardens of India that they call home.

Can you find all resting Indian rollers?

Before the park opens its gates to the busy city folk, a charm of goldfinches are taking advantage of the peace and quiet and enjoying a game of hide and seek. Often found in large flocks the golden finches have fun and play together all year round, chiming like bells as they go.

Can you find hidden in the park?

If youre climbing the slopes of the Alps and keep seeing flashes of blue and white in front of you, it will most likely be the rump of the mountaineering wheatear disappearing into the distance. Lover of rocks and heather, this blue bird of the peaks is a fantastic spot when you can get close enough.

Can you spot wheatears hidden amongst the mountain flowers and heather?