Malevir by Susan Marcus/Susan B. Marcus

Can you hear them calling? In Of Birds and Words forty bizarre birds in all their colorful plumage are waiting to tell you their stories. In this book, you will meet previously unknown owls, penguins, and many other fantastic birds born in the offbeat imagination of author Susan Bass Marcus. You’ll find them in light-hearted poetry and fables with a nod to 19th Century illustrations of birds dressed like civilized humans offering social commentary. Of Birds and Words will introduce you to the cocoa snowcatcher, the golden irate, the artichoke bird, the crested daytripper, a bevy of repurposed terns, a fabulous Gerty bird, and more.

The author is known for her fantasy novels, paranormal short stories, and a gentle humor book. This, her fifth work, plays with characters that are grouchy, aspiring, bored, mystical, magical, or just plain silly--all of them imaginary birds. Of Birds and Words includes a table of contents as well as a lexicon of invented Latin names (genus and species). Marcus drew and described each bird with idiosyncratic imagery and text. Her sympathies lie with the birds and with the hope that the reader will enjoy their antics.