Birds - Audiobook / Daphne du Maurier

Great Britain, after World War II. Nat Hawken, a disabled war veteran, lives with his family on the peninsula, works as a day laborer on the Triga farm. He is an unsociable person, rarely communicates with his neighbors, but reads a lot, loves to watch birds, knows that the behavior of land and sea birds is different.

That autumn, Nat notices that the birds are acting too excited, gathering in huge, noisy flocks. Nat shares his doubts with the farmer, who confirms that there are indeed many birds and they are behaving too boldly. Both attribute this to the change in the weather.

At night the weather worsens, it rains and a strong wind blows. A vague anxiety prevents Nat from sleeping. Suddenly there is a knock on the window, and when he opens it, first one bird attacks him, then several. Almost immediately the flock flies into the nursery and attacks the children: daughter Jilly and son Johnny. The father fights off the children and, waving a blanket, fights the maddened birds. Having killed several dozen, the wounded Nat drives away the rest and notices that there is not a single large bird among them.

Nat tells his wife about the strange behavior of the birds and explains it by the change in the weather. In the morning, a snowless, frosty winter sets in, "black", according to Nat, no birds are visible.

Although Nat has a day off, he goes to the farm and asks people about the past night. No one else has been attacked by birds, and the employees are skeptical of Nat's words. But everyone notes that the winter is too fast and frosty, probably "from the Arctic Circle" and "from the Russians." It's "coldwar ", Russians are the European bogeyman.

As Nat buries the bodies of the birds he killed that night on the beach, he notices a huge mass of seagulls in the sea: "...like a mighty battle fleet anchored and awaiting the tide." Nat anxiously wonders who to inform of the obvious danger, but cannot think of anyone.

At home, his wife tells him what she heard on the radio: birds have invaded the country and are attacking people. Arctic air currents and famine are cited as the cause. Residents are advised to stay indoors, close their windows and doors, and wait for news from the government. Nat spends several hours boarding up his windows, doors, and chimneys. He is annoyed that not everyone in the area will follow his example due to carelessness. Not everyone in these parts has fought in the war, unlike him.

The next news bulletin is broadcast: clouds of birds have completely covered the skies of English cities, so that it is dark in the middle of the day; bird attacks on people are increasing. Nat checks the food supplies, candles and finds that they are not prepared for a long siege. He fears that tomorrow they will not be able to leave the house.

Nat goes to pick up his daughter from school. He and Jilly watch in horror as, without making a sound, "...the seagulls all took off... ...their huge formations were lining up in battle formation in the sky."

Nat calls the authorities and reports his suspicions. They listen reluctantly. Suddenly Nat sees a huge flock of birds, like a cloud, flying from the coast inland. There were rooks, crows, jackdaws, jays - "birds that don't mind making a profit." Nat realizes that "they don't care about the people here." He has a crazy thought that the birds are acting according to a carefully thought-out plan, like an enemy, and that they are obeying some kind of orders. As he and his frightened daughter run home, seagulls circle menacingly above them, then the birds turn around and go after the others.

Nat asks the farmer to give the frightened, crying Jill a ride home. He doesn't take the impending danger seriously, jokes that the Russians sent seagulls to the country, and invites Nat to hunt the birds with him. He refuses, realizing that a couple of guns are not enough for the hordes of aggressive creatures.

Nat survives another attack by kamikaze seagulls and, wounded, locks himself and his family in the house.

Nat is surprised to see that birds of different species, which usually do not interact, are now uniting to attack people together. It is frightening.

A tearful wife bandages her husband's wounds and asks in despair when the authorities will start fighting the killer birds. As a former soldier, Nat understands that the government is urgently considering protective measures.

Birds surround the house and try to get in. The Hawkens listen with fear to the sounds outside. Nat reinforces the windows from the inside, barricades the doors, drags mattresses into the kitchen so they can all sleep together by the stove. The radio announces a state of emergency. The expressions of his wife and children freezefear , Nat tries to stay calm and instill it in his family.

Soon the roar of planes and gunfire is heard, and the family is filled with joyful excitement: they will be saved. But just as quickly, explosions are heard. Nat does not explain to the family that the planes that exploded were attacked by kamikaze birds. He calculates the time of the tides, guessing that the bird attacks are connected to this.

After putting the kids to bed and calming his wife down, Nat waits for the tide to go out and leaves the house. It is surrounded by piles of dead birds that were killed during the attacks. Nat plugs the broken windows with bird carcasses. A plane burns out on a hill nearby.

The next time the birds attack, they try to get into the chimney. Nat uses gasoline to create a fiery explosion in the stove, burning and scaring the birds away. Then the birds break the windows of one of the bedrooms and get in. The Hawkens listen in panic to the grinding sounds. Nat barricades the door. He notices that the birds' strikes are getting louder - the small birds are being joined by large birds of prey.

Waiting for the next low tide, the Hawkens make a foray to the farm for supplies. Land birds are sitting on fences and trees everywhere, watching people closely: waiting for the tide to come in to attack. The shocked Hawkens guess that the birds are still full.

Nat tells his wife and children not to go to the neighbors, but he visits them himself. The farm is in ruins, the cattle are wandering around the yard, the owners and workers are killed. Nat remembers how careless his owners were and feels sorry for them. He collects building materials, food, candles, fuel, loads the farmer's car and transports everything home in several trips. Along the way, the Hawkens notice the corpses of other residents. There is no smoke coming from the chimneys of the neighboring houses, no sounds are heard.

The Hawkens are hauling supplies into the house, Nat is reinforcing windows, doors, chimneys for the umpteenth time. He is silently cursing the government for not taking timely action. His wife is hoping for help.The United States , a NATO ally. Locked tightly, the Hawken family prepares to survive the next attack and the next low tide. Nat lights his last cigarette, thinking that the birds have been harboring hatred for humans for millions of years, which has broken out "and is forcing the birds to exterminate the human race with the unerring automatism of intelligent machines."