The Bird with Flaming Red Feet
Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird
By Maria Mudd Ruth
The Bird with Flaming Red Feet is a lively and heartfelt natural history of the Pigeon Guillemot, a charismatic seabird with a surprising story to tell. Found along the coast around the North Pacific and from Alaska to Southern California, this talkative and often-overlooked bird plays an outsized role in the health of marine ecosystems, earning its status as an “indicator species.”
Author and longtime volunteer surveyor Maria Mudd Ruth weaves together science, field observation, and community storytelling to paint a vivid portrait of this special species and the ecosystems, both natural and human, surrounding it. Drawing from over a decade of beachside study, Ruth dives deep into the guillemot’s behaviors, quirky traits, and ecological relationships. Along the way, readers meet the passionate citizen scientists who have built a unique community around caring for and studying this vibrant bird.
Bridging the gap between field guide and memoir, The Bird with Flaming Red Feet invites readers to slow down, look closely, and reconnect with the wild places—and creatures—just outside their door. It’s a joyful call to observation, stewardship, and a deeper understanding of the natural world and our place in it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARIA MUDD RUTH is the author of more than a dozen books on natural history topics for general audiences, young readers, and accidental naturalists, including the critically acclaimed Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet and A Sideways Look at Clouds. Mudd Ruth lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been a community scientist and guillemot groupie since 2013. To learn more, visit mariaruthbooks.net.