Helen Macdonald

Freelance

Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, illustrator, historian and affiliate at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge. Her memoir H is for Hawk (2014) won the Samuel Johnson Prize.

Written by Helen Macdonald

Vintage photo of an elderly man face to face with a bird perched on his hand, against a plain background.

essayBiology

Nest of spies

The cuckoo is both an icon of Englishness and a symbol of suspicion and deceit — a perfect pet for an MI5 officer, then

Helen Macdonald