A Most Remarkable Creature

The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey

By: Jonathan Meiburg

Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

“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)

“A fascinating, entertaining, and totally engrossing story.” (David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird)

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.

“As curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent as its subject.” (Charles C. Mann, author of 1491)

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. 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.

Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting.

©2021 Jonathan Meiburg (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

One of NPR's Best Books of the Year

“A fascinating, entertaining, and totally engrossing story of these under-appreciated birds, deftly intertwining natural history and human history, and with insights and lessons that go far beyond the subject birds.” (David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird)

“Caracaras are not like other birds, or even other birds of prey. Curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent, the ten species of caracara are a scientific puzzle that has intrigued biologists since the days of Darwin. And this book - as curious, wide-ranging, gregarious, and intelligent as its subject - is not like any other book that I have encountered. A Most Remarkable Creature is not only about a bird, but about the community of people that has formed, almost accidentally, around the bird, and beyond that about humankind itself.” (Charles C. Mann, author of 1491)

"If caracaras were able to read - and immersing myself in Mr. Meiburg’s vivid prose I sometimes fancied they just might be - this book would give them a lot of information about that exceptional creature named Jonathan Meiburg.” (Christoph Irmscher, Wall Street Journal)

Loved this book

Informative and very entertaining, plus,incredible insights into the animal kingdom to which we are just a part of. Really made me want to trek to those frozen inhabitable places just to see for myself.

Loved this book

It becomes a very personal story of evolution and nature. The story of some remarkable birds of prey and how they tumble, curious and probing, through the odd journey of hapless humanity.

5 stars for the Genre

Rates up there with anything written by Davi Quammen. Informative and entertaining. beautifully written with evocative descriptions.

Well Done

The story itself is excellent. Well written and informative, with a perfect blend of science, history and humor. That's great, but what blew me away was Mr. Meiburg's narration. I'm always initially suspicious of authors who read their own audiobooks, but Meiburg knocked this out of the park. I hope he writes (and narrates) more books in the future.

Outstanding!

One of the best nature books I’ve heard. This ranks with H is for Hawks!

Fascinating book.

Very well read by the author. So much more than a book about birds, a small genre with too few interested readers, I know. Superbly crafted storytelling. Captivating and complex yet engaging and highly accessible.

A most remarkable book!

What a pleasant surprise! I was expecting to learn about a little-known bird, but found myself immersed in a revealing journey ranging from Antarctica to Lands End. The author has a gift of description, bringing the reader into a world of sights, sounds, and smells that make you feel almost as though you’ve been there. I learned, or relearned about such fascinating topics as evolution, continental drift, geography, jungles, deserts, etc. This is a book that will be with me for the rest of my life.

I don't leave reviews often, but . . .

I've been listening to books about birds for about a year. This one excels. The book was so rich, well written, fun and informative it's hard to think of a way it could have been better. The book explores this unusual and understudied raptor in delicious details. But more than that it covers so much about the context of its study, adventures of the author, historical figures I've never heard of but were fascinating. The author is a fantastic writer and narrator, one of the best i've listened to. I must admit I'm usually not excited when I see the author of a book is also the narrator, but Meiburg is exceptional. Seriously, if you are interested in birds, evolution, history of science or adventure, get this book. I can't praise it more highly.

Wow this was wonderful

I love the intertwining of natural history, geology, and poetry that Meiburg has shared with us. I enjoyed his narration once I got into the rhythm of his writing; his love for his subject matter comes through and it was a joy to listen to.

Delightful! Curiosity and Intelligence!

Love how the author is able to give such detail and keep us interested all along. Curiosity and intelligence lend advantage to these birds; making them adaptable. When we see the destruction of some places like Easter Island let us hope that adaptability will prevail, fueled by the curious and intelligent -that is, Caracaras.