A HUSBAND and wife team will discuss their latest book, When There Were Birds: The Forgotten History Of Our Connections, at a borough library this month.
Authors, historians, and archaeologists, Roy and Lesley Adkins will visit Wokingham Library to speak about why they are passionate about birds, and what prompted them to research the largely forgotten history of our feathered companions.
Visitors to their talk will be able to find out why someone would hang a dead green woodpecker upside down from the ceiling, why people were terrified of robins, and why cockfighting was more popular than football.
Lesley Adkins said: “We’re very much looking forward to sharing our book in Wokingham.
“It should appeal to anyone with an interest in history, or who loves birds.
“We think people who come will be in for a few surprises.”
The authors became interested in birds during lockdown, when they let their garden go wild and noticed more wildlife arriving.
“We became rather obsessed by spotting the birds,” said Lesley.
“And at the same time, in our history research, we kept coming across interesting facts about them.
“We were surprised to discover how important they have been in people’s lives.
“And, of course, there used to be so many more of them.”
Lesley says that even someone who lived as recently as 100 years ago would be shocked at how few birds there are today.
“There would have been lines of migrating birds two or three miles long,” she said.
“We can hardly imagine that now.”
During their talk, Roy and Lesley will explain why people relied on birds for telling the time, to help them write, and to feed them.
They will also reveal some of the more unusual superstitions associated with birds.
The event takes place at Wokingham Library, on Thursday, June 22 at 2pm.
To attend, people should visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/libraries, or log on to: www.wokingham.spydus.co.uk, and search for ‘when there were birds’.
