Foreword: Bird-watching with my Dad / Barbara Kingsolver -- Introduction: How birds can save the world / John W. Fitzpatrick -- Secret lives of birds / Scott Weidensaul -- In the field: among flamingos / Gerrit Vyn -- Profile: Greg Budney, audio recordist -- Inspiration aloft / Lyanda Lynn Haupt -- In the field: a congregation of millions / Gerrit Vyn -- Profile: Shawn Langston, citizen scientist -- Beacons of our planet / John W. Fitzpatrick -- In the field: the world's most imperiled bird / Gerrit Vyn -- Profile: Sara Kaiser, researcher -- Afterword: The coming decades / Jared Diamond -- Future of birds is in our hands.