INTRODUCTION Growing up in Brazil I spent a lot of time playing with my friends along the shore of the river that ran close to my house I saw families of white egrets and noisy parakeets I watched wild Muscovy Ducks swimming with their little chicks Up above me I would see Black Vultures and flocks of swallows that looked like moving clouds I love the variety of birds their colored feathers and their sense of freedom When I moved to Canada I discovered many birds new to me For the first time I saw cormorants sand pipers gulls jays and warblers Herons too 4
I have always been fascinated by books about birds including the wondrous pictures of John James Audubon For years now I have been making collages of birds using old magazine paper Collage allows me to capture the sense of aliveness and joy I feel when I look at birds The image is a door that leads me to discover and learn My Book of Birds is my album of artistic impressions of North American birds Learning about these birds makes me happy and I hope My Book of Birds will make you happy too 5
In parts of Asia Golden Eagles are still trained as hunting birds in the ancient art of falconry 6
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos The Golden Eagle is an awesome bird of prey It flies over fields and mountains searching for animals like rabbits hares and marmots Then it dives at high speed grasping its prey with sharp talons 7
