The dark, smudgy streaks on Xavi Bou's photographs suggest the jerky ink tracks created by a malfunctioning printer, but they actually record the various patterns birds trace while flying in flocks.

Imagine zooming out on a giant family tree that includes every bird you have ever seen. Ostriches sprint across open plains, hummingbirds hover at flowers, penguins slice through cold seas, and eagles ...

The photos and illustrations in this large volume are so beautiful that one is tempted to skim the text, in part because there seems to be so little of it. That, however, would be a mistake: while ...