Birds, Beasts and Relatives

The follow-up to My Family and Other Animals and the inspiration for The Durrells in Corfu: A naturalist's memoir of his family's time on a Greek island. In the years before World War II, Gerald Durrell's family left the gloomy shores of England for the sun-drenched island of Corfu. Against this picturesque backdrop, Durrell fondly recalls his family's disorderly household and outrageous antics, including their interactions with locals of both human and animal varieties. After a boyhood spent studying zoology and acquiring the island's exotic insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, and sea creatures as pets, Durrell's budding naturalism would later bloom into a passion for conservation that would last a lifetime. Filled with clever observations, amusing anecdotes, and childlike wonder, Birds, Beasts and Relatives is half nature guide, half coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author's estate.;Cover Page; Title Page; Dedication; Contents; Conversation; Part One: Perama; 1 The Christening; 2 The Bay of Olives; 3 The Myrtle Forests; Part Two: Kontokali; 4 The Pygmy Jungle; 5 Cuttlefish and Crabs; Interlude for Spirits; 6 The Olive Merry-Go-Round; 7 Owls and Aristocracy; Part Three: Criseda; 8 Hedgehogs and Sea-Dogs; 9 The Talking Head; 10 The Angry Barrels; Epilogue; Mail; Preview: The Garden of the Gods; A Biography of Gerald Durrell; A Message from Durrell Wildlife; Copyright Page.