A crafty cat hides behind a feathered mask to entrap inattentive birds; a monkey in a leather flying suit and helmet is all set to join then in the clouds. Such extraordinary images depict a highly idiosyncratic view of the animal kingdom while containing a number of literary and artistic references, to the surrealist Salvador Dali and the nonsensical Edward Lear. There are also several examples of a cheerful pastiche, Venus a Jersey cow emerges, Botticelli-style, from a scallop shell, a flying fish in harness reaches for the sky with a Captain Ahab figure stoically holding the reins. James Marsh's brilliant colours, draughtmanship and meticulous attention to details of all kinds are to be found throughout this magical array of characters from the natural world: a benevolent polar bear on his ice-floe, well wrapped up against the Arctic cold; a schoolmasterly owl, equipped with spectacles and quill; a determined turtle, its dynamic swimming action duplicated by its flotilla of young; a resplendent parrot, attended by brightly coloured insects; and that rare specimen, the spotted lion, either an exotic cross-breed or else highly infectious ...This bizarre bestiary is accompanied by the artist's own whimsical verse, ranging from the broadly comic to the strange and surreal. All his birds and beasts look well worth protecting and will give animal lovers of all ages a great deal of amusement and delight.