Hamish Macdonald was the first skriver at the Scottish National Library in Edinburgh and the poems reflect his own lifelong love of birds. Scots is the medium throughout. As Alexander Wilson was not only a self-taught ornithologist but also at one time a minor Scots poet and an orator who delivered his speeches in Scots verse, this makes Scots an apposite medium with which to explore these beautiful drawings.

Alexander Wilson, a Radical Paisley weaver turned packman, traveled thousands of miles by foot across the American continent illustrating and writing about its birdlife. Wilson is the founding father of American Ornithology, while his illustrations and writing comprise an outstanding body of work. American Ornithology was published in nine volumes between 1808 and 1814.

Paul Walton is head of habitats and species for Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland.