This is a lovely, gentle read from a woman who didn't initially think much of crows but was persuaded by her publisher to write a book about them anyway. It's appeal is that it's so local - Haupt meditates on the birds in her own garden and neighbourhood and city, and that accessibility is a constant throughout the book. The author's not, I think, a scientist - the focus here is on building a relationship with one part of the nonhuman world. That might mean drawing a dead crow, or administering first aid on an injured bird, or taking her young daughter on a walk down the street so that they can bird-watch together. It's something that everyone can do - maybe not with crows, depending on where in the world readers are (good luck seeing crows here in New Zealand, for instance), but certainly with something else.