Artist Jackie Morris and writer Robert Macfarlane have reunited to create a new book celebrating Britain's birds. The collaboration follows their successful 2015 project, The Lost Words, which became a cultural phenomenon after the pair protested the removal of nature-related terms from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.
Their original book, funded through grassroots crowdfunding, reached more than three-quarters of UK primary schools. The project sparked a movement reconnecting young people with the names and wonder of animals and plants facing decline or extinction.
The new bird-focused work continues this mission. Morris provides illustrations while Macfarlane contributes written pieces, aiming to open readers' eyes to species vanishing from Britain's landscape. The Guardian has obtained exclusive extracts from the upcoming publication.
The effort addresses a real problem. Many young people lack vocabulary for the natural world around them. By celebrating bird names and characteristics through art and narrative, the duo works to reverse this disconnect and foster environmental awareness in the next generation.