Author
In 1997, Jonathan Meiburg received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel to remote communities around the world, a year-long journey that sparked a deep fascination with remote islands, birds, and the deep history of our planet. Twenty-five years later, he distilled his experiences in A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey (Knopf), a non-fiction adventure in travel, natural history, biology, and historical biography that reveals the people, wildlife and landscapes of South America through the weird and wonderful lives of the caracaras—curious, crow-like, highly intelligent falcons who've been mostly ignored by scientists from the northern world. Released this month in paperback, A Most Remarkable Creature is as unique as its subject; "to call it a bird book," wrote The Dallas Morning News, "would be like calling Moby-Dick a whaling manual." It received a Kirkus star, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for excellence in nonfiction, appeared on many year-end lists, and was praised by writers and scientists from Margaret Atwood to David Sibley. Meiburg has another life, too: he's best known as the leader of the indie-rock band Shearwater, whose albums and performances have often been praised by NPR, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Pitchfork. His unique career between the sciences and the arts makes him an ideal guide for a journey that takes in the deep history and landscapes of an entire continent, from the lush forests of Guyana to the windswept Falkland Islands, and reminds us how much still remains to be learned about our world. He lives in central Texas.