In addition are two chapters which don’t fit neatly into either category, trees and humans. The myths have simply changed and they still run rampant.Įach chapter depicts a common urban species ranging from mammals like coyotes, moles, opossums and squirrels to the birds including chickadees, crows and the invasive three pigeons, house sparrows and starlings. Comparing these stories, which we might dismiss as nonsense, with what we think we know about certain animals today, makes us realize the amount of misinformation still out there. Haupt has also melded a great deal of folklore and mythology into this book and in some instances, retold legends in her own words. The truth is that we exist together “tangled so messily and so wondrously”. She makes us think, really think, about where is that border between wild and city and does it even exist. Haupt has dubbed it the ‘New Nature’ and is quickly becoming an excellent spokeswoman for this concept. One of the first messages of this book is carried over from Crow Planet and that is the idea of nature as something all around us, all the time, instead of something out there, which we have to put on fancy hiking shoes to visit. I’m happy to report I wasn’t disappointed. Needless to say, I had high expectations from Haupt’s new book, to be released on September 17th. It’s a book that made me a better urban naturalist and opened my eyes to improved observation skills. It’s one of the books I recommend most often in conversation and blog posts.

The Urban Bestiary: Encountering the Everyday Wild is the new book from author Lyanda Lynn Haupt who also wrote one of my favorite books, Crow Planet.

The Urban Bestiary by Lyanda Lynn Haupt