The Seabird's Cry
The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Seabird's Cry
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
-
By:
-
Adam Nicolson
About this listen
WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2018
WINNER OF THE JEFFERIES AWARD FOR NATURE WRITING 2017
The full story of seabirds from one of the greatest nature writers. The book looks at the pattern of their lives, their habitats, the threats they face and the passions they inspire.
Seabirds are master navigators, thriving in the most demanding environment on earth. In this masterly book, drawing on all the most recent research, Adam Nicolson follows them to the coasts and islands of Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and the Americas. Beautifully illustrated by Kate Boxer, The Seabird’s Cry is a celebration of the wonders of the only creatures at home in the air, on land and on the sea. It also carries a warning: the number of seabirds has dropped by two-thirds since 1950. Extinction stalks the ocean and there is a danger that the grand cry of a seabird colony will this century become little but a memory.
©2017 Adam Nicolson (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘An exquisitely written paean to ten ocean-going birds … make no mistake, this is a clever book … a call to arms against the loss of this crucial part of our rich natural heritage’, Books of the Year, The Times
‘An extraordinary book, nothing less than a masterpiece’ Financial Times
‘Gorgeous book, a poetic soaring exploration of 10 species of seabirds…Generous and beautifully composed’ Observer
‘No one has previously captured the essence of seabirds, of their habitats or their lives, with such poignancy or perception as Adam Nicolson in this fine book…[He] takes us on an extraordinary, constantly changing journey through the history, literature and biology of their lives…[His] exuberance for seabirds is infectious…inspirational’ BBC Wildlife
‘Nicolson writes with a heart full of poetry and a head full of science. He is up to speed with recent seabird research and tells the tales with relish’ Mail on Sunday
‘Full of fascinating and often gruesome details…[he] succeeds in expressing his sense of awe at these magnificent creatures’ Sunday Times
‘Though seabirds have ridden the surf and skies for 100 million years we are now casually wiping them out…Nicolson has accorded them this book. Its excellence constitutes some small recompense’ Evening Standard
‘It isn’t sufficient to say that Nicolson writes well about birds. He is dizzyingly, dazzlingly good’ Sunday Herald
‘Beautiful and engrossing book…written with verve and weathered with wonder…there is no one I’d rather read writing about these creatures…the bigness of our author’s excitements and passions is…abundant in this clear-sighted yet loving book and it is magnificent to have’ Country Life
'Breathtaking…[Nicolson] has an intuitive understanding of the birds that feels almost uncanny…presents…research in a way that is not just comprehensible but compelling, even moving…His swithering between the forensic and the poetic creates a sense of wonder' Spectator
What listeners say about The Seabird's Cry
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Malcolm G. Bracken
- 12-06-18
wonderfully written overview of 10 seabird species
loved it, especially how the science is done. A little less interested in the tales of cloth brutality
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda Nicholson
- 18-09-23
Everyone should Listen to this Book
I thought it was wonderful but sad to know some of our Sea Birds are struggling to find food
Plastic pollution warming seas killing our Sea Birds
Long line Fishing nets DEATH TRAPS
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- KtG
- 23-11-22
Enchanting, a reverie of Seabirds. Haunting.
A beautiful book, and I felt the narration fitted the text well. I could hardly stop listening, even during some of the less humane research and sad tales of human exploitation and destruction of seabirds caused discomfort. Author's passion for and intense appreciation was clear and infectious.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jo Symon
- 18-07-22
Great insight into seabird life
Excellent, thorough insight into the 10 seabirds in this book. Harrowing at times, hopeful at times.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eleanor
- 10-07-24
Beautifully read book
Would highly recommend this book - lots of interesting facts; I learnt loads; and the audio is lovely
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- KittyB
- 22-09-17
As rare and precious as Great Orc's egg
Would you consider the audio edition of The Seabird's Cry to be better than the print version?
I am not sure if the print version contained any pictures? I did find myself having to google some of the birds to see what they looked like. I didn't mind that in the slightest though and preferred having this amazing book to listen to while I was out and about running from various places in London at the weekend.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Oh goodness it is so hard to choose! I will say the Great Orc, I hadn't known anything about Great Orcs before this let alone the fact they are now extinct. I do also have a bit of a soft spot for puffins too and was very fun finding out more about them.
Have you listened to any of Dugald Bruce-Lockhart’s other performances? How does this one compare?
At first I felt the narrator sounded a bit like someone giving a sermon but after a little while I didn't mind it so much. Nice clear narration throughout and I felt his voice fitted very well with the text too.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The Nazca boobies, that part was horrible - I don't think I ever realised animals could be so cruel to each other.
Any additional comments?
Nicolson takes 10 different seabirds and writes a chapter on each. This has the potential to be incredibly boring, seagulls aren’t exactly sexy. However, Nicolson makes his book incredibly fascinating. It is part zoology, part mythology, part sociology with a little bit of philosophy and personal memories thrown in for good measure. What this creates is a fascinating profile into each specific bird and leaves the reader with a deep appreciation for the seabirds. We meet the Fulmars, Razorbills, Puffins, and the now extinct Great Orc among many other, animals that inhabit a part of our world but also live in their own unique spheres of existence. There are some fascinating things in this book, the way that birds navigate the ocean through smell was fascinating to me. I winced at the explanation of what Nazca boobies do to their babies, and also the horrendous cruelty humans have inflicted on seabirds to make a nice hat among other things. It has left me with fresh eyes and I will never again see a seabird as just as seabird, they are so much more! This book is an absolute delight, I am certain anyone reading it won't be disappointed, it is so rich and engaging. I loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- purlieu
- 31-01-18
informative and poignant
Would you consider the audio edition of The Seabird's Cry to be better than the print version?
In some ways I'd have preferred to read it in print so I could enjoy the illustrations and because I found Bruce -Lockart's voice too uniform. However, I think I will now buy a copy of the book.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Puffins! but as puffins are so easy to like I also was amazed by shearwaters.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Varied his voice more and not kept going up and down in tone in the same way so he voice almost disappeared repeatedly
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
It would be a nature documentary with Chris Packham or the author I guess, not sure about tag lines
Any additional comments?
Heartbreaking in places, amazing facts and beautifully written. But also horrifying in places to hear about the ways researchers have found out what they know about the birds in the past (techniques are not so cruel these days). It's a siren call for the protection of our oceans.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lucilla Waugh
- 27-10-18
This is proof of the pudding why a book club is such a good idea.
I set a book club nearly 10 years ago as I wanted to read things I wouldn’t normally read . This book is one of those . I totally love it . Beautifully written,fascinating and insightful; and I love the humour that comes through and the comparison to our own human behaviours . I shall look at seabirds in a new light from now on ; the fact that they are the only animals that master the sea, land and sky . RESPECT! Lovely illustrations too
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- japlah
- 30-01-23
Adam’s Nicolson’s Serenade
I read this in 2018. As then, quite unnerving.... stats wrapped in wonderful prose. No pointers as to how we get our appalling behaviours and lethal energy systems to emulated the efficiency of the albatross in flight ?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Douglas O'Neil
- 13-02-24
Beautifully written
Inspires you to save the seas - evokes the world through the eyes of a seabird. Awe-inspiring stuff. Who’d a thought a seagull could be so full of soul?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!