Shelley’s Handwritten To a Skylark Annotations in New Exhibition on Birds

The Bodleian Libraries' forthcoming exhibition Wonder of Birds will feature rare 10th century manuscripts, a unique birdwatcher's prison diary, and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s handwritten annotations for To a Skylark.

Running May 2 through January 3, 2027, at the Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, the exhibition will explore humanity’s enduring relationship with birds, inspired by the awardwinning The Book of Birds produced by artist Jackie Morris and writer Robert Macfarlane which celebrates birds' cultural significance. Curated by Antonia Harrison, it will also look at how birds have inspired literature and poetry.

Highlights include:

• previously unseen glass plate negatives by Emma Louisa Turner (1867-1940), a pioneering figure in the male-dominated fields of ornithology and wildlife photography
• life-size illustrations from James Audubon’s Birds of America which features several species that are now extinct
• the birdwatching diary of ornithologist, literary scholar and poet John Buxton from his time as a prisoner of war at the Oflag VIIB camp during the Second World War
• a depiction of Cygnus the Swan from the 10th century astronomical manuscript The Book of the Fixed Stars by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi
• an illuminated manuscript of Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th century narrative poem The Conference of the Birds in which the birds of the world embark on a journey of self-discovery
• the 16th century Codex Mendoza, documenting Aztec history and daily life, in relation to its culturally important depictions of feather work