Niall, I. — Feathered Friends

Chatto & Windus London x, 170, b/w illus. . HB. Vg in d/w (spine slightly faded).. Line drawings by Louis Mackay. A delightful collection of autobiographical reminiscences centred upon Ian Niall's lifelong fascination with birds. Ian Niall was the pen-name of the Scottish writer John Kincaid McNeillie. McNeillie he spent much of his childhood in Galloway, an experience which profoundly shaped his writing. Drawing on his childhood on his grandparents' farm in Galloway, and later in London and the coast of North Wales, Niall recalls encounters with both wild and domestic birds, from ravens, owls and wild geese to mallard, pigeons, hawks, chickens and peacocks. The stories combine close observation of birds and rural life with Niall's characteristic humour and affection for the countryside.. [9780701127725]