Wilson's Ornithology and Burds in Scots

Alexander Wilson was the inspiration for the Last of the Mohicans. He travelled across North America, living wild, counting and painting birds for the first ever American Ornithology.

His beautiful illustrations alongside new poems in Scots by Hamish MacDonald, look at the habits, habitats, and characteristics of birds.

‘The crossbill is a bonny bird

An she sings wi a guid Scots tongue

Jip-jip-jip

A’ll gie ye gip

Gin ye meddle wi me nor ma young’

This book highlights the works of a notable Scottish writer and illustrator, Alexander Wilson. Wilson explored the world of birds through the rich and vibrant medium of the Scots language. Because of his vast travels across North America in the eighteenth century, Wilson pioneered the science of ornithological writing and illustration. He was also a radically-minded weaver and minor poet. Because of this, he was something of a rebel in his own country. Before he emigrated to the United States, Wilson wrote and published a number of poems in Scots. This new book celebrates the artwork of Alexander Wilson by reproducing his illustrations alongside new poems in Scots by Hamish MacDonald. The new poems look at the habits, habitats, and characteristics of birds.