Cat Among the Pigeons

In an irreverent but loving treatise on the creatures of South Africa and beyond, David Muirhead features eccentric animal behaviors in his native home. Mixing folklore and legend with a heavy dose of science, Muirhead leaves no wart unexamined in these tales of unrespectable animals. A book for those delighted to discover what “pronking” means, or that for pythons, swallowing a porcupine whole is the easy part; it's afterwards when the anxiety really starts.

Cat Among the Pigeons allows us to laugh our way to a reconnection with the creatures we co-evolved with, highlighting their importance to our collective past and precarious futures. A reminder in our increasingly urban world that the strange and fantastical still roam, crawl, wiggle, swim and soar through the terrestrial and aquatic world, ready to delight and surprise us.