Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor

Eye-opening essays about searching for peace in the cacophony of birds and discovering a world of meaning in small moments--from award-winning actor Lili Taylor.

"By turns introspective, inquisitive, and funny, the book is a love letter to nature and the solace it can provide."--The New Yorker

Most people don't really know birds--or rather, they aren't aware of them. Lili Taylor used to be one of those people. She knew birds existed. She thought about them, maybe even more than the average person. But she didn't know them. And then something happened.

During a much-needed break from her work as an actor, Lili sought silence and instead found the bustling, symphonic world of birds that had always existed around her. Since then, she has kept a keen eye pressed to her binoculars in search of vivid stories that elevate the everyday, if only one pays attention.

Through a series of beautifully crafted essays, Taylor shares her intimate encounters with the birds that have captured her heart and imagination--from tracking flitting woodpeckers through oak trees to spotting majestic blue jays perched on a Manhattan fire escape; from the exhilaration of witnessing a migratory flock from the top of the Empire State Building to the quiet joy of observing a nest of hatchlings in her own backyard. Through simply paying attention to birds, Lili has been shown a parallel world that is wider and deeper, one of constant change and movement, full of life and the will to survive.

Throughout Turning to Birds, Taylor encourages mindfulness, inviting readers to be present and fully engaged with the world around them. Taylor's lyrical prose and thoughtful meditations on both the art we make and the art we discover around us create a sense of intimacy and wonder, inviting readers to see the world through new eyes and to find joy in the most unexpected places.

"By turns introspective, inquisitive, and funny, the book is a love letter to nature and the solace it can provide." --The New Yorker

"Lili Taylor has always been such a wonderful actor to watch--perhaps partly because of the watchful quality she so often brings to her characters. . . . In Turning to Birds, Taylor brings that sharp eye to her own backyard, chronicling her own pleasure at observing the birds at play there. Her enchantment by the various feathered beings whose lives she witnesses may be catching." --The Boston Globe

"A profoundly relatable story about falling in love with the avian world." --Audubon Magazine

"Lili Taylor is an actor I've long been in awe of, and now I know why her work has always been soulful and painfully honest. Turning to Birds is a treasure map to Lili's inner life and a scripture in how to be truly mindful." --Griffin Dunne, actor, director, and author of The Friday Afternoon Club

"What can an actor--even a consummate one like Lili Taylor--tell us about birding? Plenty, as she brings her profession's keen observation skills to Turning to Birds, exploring what our feathered marvels can mean to us people. You couldn't ask for a more personal, accessible approach to the pastime we all love (or will, by the end of this book)." --Christian Cooper, author of Better Living Through Birding

"If you are wondering what this hobby called 'birding' is, why so many people are attracted to it, or how one becomes a birder, wonder no more! In Turning to Birds, Lili Taylor answers these questions with flair, insight, and wisdom." --Douglas Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope

"In a series of lively essays, Taylor dives into her experiences with birds and birding . . . [and] takes the reader along on her journey of discovery. . . . [She] is a wonderful ambassador for our feathered kin." --Booklist, starred review

"Infectiously exuberant . . . A delightful celebration of the joys of birding--and how it leads one to look at the world in a new light." --Kirkus Reviews

Lili Taylor is an award-winning movie, television, and theater actor. In the birding world, Lili is a board member of the National Audubon Society, the American Birding Association, and the New York City Bird Alliance. Lili nests in Brooklyn and upstate New York with her husband, the memoirist and poet Nick Flynn, and their daughter.

Crown Publishing Group

Pub Date: April 29, 2025

0.84" H x 8.53" L x 5.83" W

208 pages

hardcover