Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it.Īlmost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by an animal he met in the Falkland Islands: handsome, social, and oddly crow-like falcons that were “tame and inquisitive…quarrelsome and passionate,” and so insatiably curious that they stole hats, compasses, and other valuables from the crew of the Beagle. “Utterly captivating and beautifully written, this book is a hugely entertaining and enlightening exploration of a bird so wickedly smart, curious, and social, it boggles the mind.”-Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way

“Deftly intertwine natural history and human history, with insights and lessons that go far beyond the subject birds.”-David Sibley, author of What It’s Like to Be a Bird

He travels through South America in search of striated caracaras and their close relatives, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of the Guiana Shield, and reveals the wild and surprising story of their origins, their keen and flexible minds, and their possible futures.An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet’s deep past in their family history. Almost two centuries later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up the chase. These clever, fearless birds of prey stole hats and valuables from the crew of the Beagle, and they seemed unusually interested in humans.ĭarwin couldn’t understand why they were confined to a set of remote islands but he set this mystery aside, and never returned to it.

In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by a ‘mischievous’ animal he met in the Falklands: rare, crow-like falcons known today as striated caracaras. An enthralling voyage of discovery to meet a rare and mysterious bird of prey that puzzled Darwin, fascinates modern-day falconers, and carries secrets of our planet’s deep past in its family history.

A most remarkable creature