Living with Birds

Following the success of Birds as Individuals, Len Howard spent the 1950s continuing to deepen her understanding of the birds in her garden.

This book tells the story of one exceptional great tit that Len called Star. With patience, consistency and sensitivity, Len succeeds in teaching this little bird to count using taps. Star’s character and intelligence is revealed in this intimate bird biography, unlike any told before. In opening her home to wild birds, Len gains their trust enough to make astonishing discoveries about their capabilities.

Full of joy and wonder, as well as deep knowledge and fascinating detail, Living with Birds also takes in the story of a lame fledgling, tales of great tit parents and their babies, observations of migrant birds, and how exactly Len succeeded in developing such unusual relationships with wild birds.

’Howard seems to have stood on the brink of communication with a wild bird, something till now hardly conceivable...awe-inspiring’ Observer

Len Howard (1894-1973) was a British naturalist and musician best known for her studies of birds, published as Birds as Individuals (1952) and Living with Birds (1956).

In her early life, Howard pursued a career in music in London, giving music lessons, organising concerts for the children of the poor and playing the viola professionally in an orchestra under Malcolm Sargent. In 1938, she purchased a plot of land outside the village of Ditchling, Sussex, and built the house she called Bird Cottage. There she developed an intimate and unusual relationship with the wild birds in the area, providing food (including her own war rations), chasing away predators, tending to damaged nests, and allowing the birds to fly and roost throughout her home. Her musical training gave her a unique insight into the diverse character of birdsong. Howard died at Bird Cottage in 1973.