An oriole sings to a dying father. A bleeding-heart dove saves the day. A crow wakes a womans resolve. Owls help a boy endure isolation. Cockatoos attend the laying of the dead. Always there are birds in these linked stories that pay homage to kindness and the kinship among women and the planet. From Australia to the Philippines, across cultures a

Merlinda Bobis is an utterly distinctive voice in Australian letters. In our ironic and cynical times, here are stories of heartfelt feeling fulsome, tender and unabashed in which grief and hope are equally things with feathers. Gail Jones, award-winning novelist