There are 10,000 species of birds in the world. Noah Strycker set himself a goal: to be the first person to see half of them in one year. Armed with a backpack, binoculars, and a series of one-way tickets, his journey takes him to 41 countries and all seven continents in the greatest adventure in the birding world.

It was never going to be easy: Noah encounters blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, floods, war zones, and ecological devastation. But there are also conservation triumphs, a colourful cast of fellow birders, and the sheer joy of encountering a magnificent species by being in the right place at the right time.

Birding Without Borders is a celebration of birdwatching, a call to adventure, and a lesson in living life to the full: if you keep your eyes open, you never know what you might see.

One of the Guardian's Best Paperbacks of November

'Astonishing ... If by chance you can't meet these 6,042 species yourself, this book is a close second' Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds

'Even readers who wouldn't know a marvellous spatuletail from a southern ground hornbill will be awed' Publishers Weekly

Noah Strycker set himself a goal: to become the first person to see half the world's 10,000 species of bird in one year.

With an itinerary covering 41 countries, spanning all seven continents, and armed with a backpack, binoculars and a series of one-way tickets, he sets out on the greatest adventure in the birding world. Along the way he meets a colourful cast of fellow birders - and discovers a world of blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation and conservation triumphs.

Vivid, charming and full of wonder, Birding Without Borders is a celebration of passion, exploration and the birders' ethos that, if you keep your eyes and mind open, you never know what you might see.

One of the Guardian's Best Paperbacks of November

'Astonishing ... If by chance you can't meet these 6,042 species yourself, this book is a close second' Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds

'Even readers who wouldn't know a marvellous spatuletail from a southern ground hornbill will be awed' Publishers Weekly

Noah Strycker set himself a goal: to become the first person to see half the world's 10,000 species of bird in one year.

With an itinerary covering 41 countries, spanning all seven continents, and armed with a backpack, binoculars and a series of one-way tickets, he sets out on the greatest adventure in the birding world. Along the way he meets a colourful cast of fellow birders - and discovers a world of blood-sucking leeches, chronic sleep deprivation, floods, war zones, ecologic devastation and conservation triumphs.

Vivid, charming and full of wonder, Birding Without Borders is a celebration of passion, exploration and the birders' ethos that, if you keep your eyes and mind open, you never know what you might see.