Table of contents : Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Notes for readers -- List of illustrations -- Timeline -- Maps of the classical world in the first century AD -- Part 1. Birds in the natural world. Introduction 1. The seasons 2. Weather 3. Time 4. Soundscapes -- Part 2. Birds as a resource. Introduction 5. Hunting and fowling 6. Cooking and eating 7. Farming -- Part 3. Living with birds. Introduction 8. Captivity and domestication 9. Sports and entertainments 10. Relationships and responsibilities -- Part 4. Invention and discovery. Introduction 11. Wonders 12. Medicine 13. Observation and enquiry -- Part 5. Thinking with birds. Introduction 14. Omens and auguries 15. Magic and metamorphosis 16. Signs and symbols -- Part 6. Birds as intermediaries. Introduction 17. Fabulous creatures 18. Messengers and mediators 19. Mother Earth -- 20. Epilogue -- Appendix: Some bird lists from ancient sources -- Biographies of authors quoted.