A woman falls in love with a bird - what book could this be?

July 1, 2023 9:46 AM

My mother was telling me about a book she read a long time ago. In it, a couple brings home a bird (possibly an eagle or hawk), and the woman eventually falls in love with it. She's been Googling but hasn't been able to find it. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
posted by wheatlets to Writing & Language (11 answers total)

This?
posted by bearette at 10:22 AM on July 1, 2023

Bearette, that video is locked and can't be viewed by people who don't have TikTok, just FYI.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:40 PM on July 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

There was a This American Life episode segment with similar concept. Summary below:

"Veronica Chater explains the conflict in her house between her love for her pet macaw—a kind of parrot—and her love for her husband and three kids. The macaw wreaks a sort of low-level chaos in the house, because it wants Veronica all to itself. (10 minutes)"

I believe the woman had the bird before she got married, though.
posted by dearadeline at 3:52 PM on July 1, 2023

That Quail, Robert is about a family that adopts an injured bird and develop a deep affection for him.
posted by drezdn at 4:37 PM on July 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

The Crane Husband
posted by ichomp at 6:04 PM on July 1, 2023

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
posted by carrioncomfort at 2:22 AM on July 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce has a crow (who can turn human) and a" strong female character" romance storyline (as well as war/slavery/political drams storylines)- this is the first book, they eventually have crow/human babies. It's fantasy YA though fairly adult YA if that makes sense.
posted by Lesium at 3:11 AM on July 2, 2023

Here is a YouTube short of the link I posted above, hopefully that is viewable by all.

It's an interview from Vice with a woman describing her love affair with a pigeon. Not sure if there is a book about it though.
posted by bearette at 5:57 AM on July 2, 2023

Are you sure it’s a bird? Rachel Ingalls’ Mrs. Caliban is about a woman who falls in love with a reptile (sort of).
posted by scratch at 7:11 AM on July 2, 2023

Was it Wesley the Owl?
posted by Coaticass at 10:14 PM on July 2, 2023

Response by poster: she says that none of these are it - she said:

"No. I think it was something like the couple rescued birds of prey and then this one eagle came into their lives and divided the relationship - the women got more involved with the eagle."
posted by wheatlets at 11:52 AM on July 13, 2023