Bird City: Adventures in New York’s Urban Wilds

Journalist and birder Goldberg debuts with a vivid account of New York City’s vast and diverse bird population. Noting that around 430 bird species have been found in New York, more than a third of the species found in the entire country, Goldberg writes, “They’re packed in just like us, shoulder to shoulder, fighting for their place here.” Over the course of four seasons, he journeys through the five boroughs to examine rare and common birds, learning how and why they make the concrete jungle their home. He details how peregrine falcons, once endangered, were bred in captivity and reintroduced to New York City in the 1980s, where they easily adapted, needing only “a tray of sand and gravel on a skyscraper ledge” to build a nest, and chronicles the story of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who fled the Central Park Zoo in 2023 and made Manhattan his home, inspiring a fandom in the process. Throughout, Goldberg captures in spirited prose the thrill of spotting a species for the first time and the dedication of volunteers who advocated for bird-safe glass in new buildings; it’s estimated that more than 230,000 birds die each year from crashing into the city’s windows. New Yorkers will be awed to learn of the wildlife that surrounds them. (Nov.)