The story of a remarkable journey by one of the world's greatest nature writers across five continents to track down every species of the crane family. Once regarded as messengers from heaven, cranes form part of the ancient myth and legend of every country in which they appear. Today, they evoke the retreating wilderness and the vanishing habits upon which they depend. The enormous spans of their migrations are a symbol of their struggle to survive and a stimulus to international conservation efforts. Illustrated with colour plates by the renowned American wildlife artist Robert Bateman, The Birds of Heaven captures the beauty of a vanishing species and the dilemma of a planet in ecological crisis.