For many, birds represent freedom and spirituality since they are created to be free. Although this may be true for people as well, we are of course not able to be as truly free as our winged friends.

Looking out of his office window and seeing the birds flying, emphasizing his confinement indoors and the unnecessary complexities of life in general, the author regrets his lost freedom.  Life tends to be over-complicated and many would advocate following a simpler life. Birds, on the other hand, live the life they are destined for and this book shows how a common love of birds bridges cultures and distance.

The Birds are our Friends is a wonderful and enlightening collection of essential information, curiosities, myths and folklore of birds and people. The author has discovered the role that birds play in people’s imagination, and their significance for various cultures. People’s accounts of birds give an insight to themselves – what they strive for, what they are afraid of and what they find important.

Some birds predict the weather and construct unbelievably sophisticated nests or engage in elegant mating rituals. The author provides new insights on these facts and myths which confound some widely-held assumptions of their activities.

Yessengali has a deeply personal connection and relationship with some birds. His fondest memories from childhood or young adulthood are associated with cuckoos, storks, and other birds that remind him of love and friendship. He hopes that these stories will interest readers, remind them of their spirituality and also evoke fine memories. In any event, it is a book that illuminates the world of birds from a slightly different viewpoint.

Readership: this will be of great appeal to everyone with an interest in birds and the natural world, including their role, past and present, in people’s lives. This is an unusual and interesting book that will capture people’s imagination.

'This is an interesting book – a translation of a book by the Kazakh poet Yessengali Raushanov. The book is organised by species, over 30 species of bird, many of which are familiar to a UK audience, with a few extra bird-related essays included too. One learns something of the folklore, history and present of Kazakhstan from this book and something of birds too. I enjoyed the insights into a country that I quite hanker after visiting …   

There is a story about a young girl who was swimming in a lake, and was such a good swimmer that she was given the nickname Dipper, after which we learn something of Dippers. I loved the mixture. And stories about the impacts of Bittern songs, and Quails, and tales of Pheasants in their natural habitats all held my attention. Which bird used to be a red eagle and helped defeat an army of elephants by dropping stones on them?

I enjoyed this book greatly, but the bird content was, in some ways, of secondary importance to the tales of a far off land sprinkled with quotes and sayings from ancient times including from the Quran. Except that the birds grounded these stories because I know more about birds than I do about Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Chinese. … Birds have pretty much the same characteristics wherever you find them and so, it seems, do people, even people living very different lives with very different histories and beliefs'. Sunday Book Review, Mark Avery

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