"Corvus" is a book by Esther Woolfson, a strange lady in Britain (where else?) with an even stranger taste in pets. Her main pet is a rook! If you don't know what a rook is, well, it's a kind of...crow.
Still, the rook seems to be rather civilized, compared to Esther's other pet birds. There's a talking magpie (!!), playing demolition derby with the lady's flat. She also has a talking starling with a very foul mouth. Or rather beak. It seems the starling was originally the property of an American couple with a strong propensity for expletives.
A cute rook, a crazy magpie and a foul-beaked starling. I mean, who needs a parakeet anyway?
Personally, I didn't enjoy "Corvus" as much as I probably should have. Large parts of the book are more serious, and filled with general information on corvids taken from other books I've already digested.
However, if you love popularized books on animals, nature or pets, this one is probably in your league.
Incidentally, I don't mind rooks, magpies and starlings (but then, I'm not a farmer or game-keeper!). However, I would be somewhat worried if the magpies in my neighbourhood would suddenly say "Howdie" and invite themselves into the living room.
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