I'm sorry to comment so late, but I just came across this and I was upset reading that book summary too-- not only because of the way it cast the bird species, although that was horrid-- but because of the creepy racist/genocide plot that seems to be such an awful staple of fantasy books. It immediately, and in a probably ridiculously paranoid way, reminded me of Yellow Peril pamphlets from the late 1800's-- they've got filthy habits, no morals, and they're breeding fast! they're going to take over! etc etc, and this book seems to have it all, right down to the sexual violence committed against non-invader women (bird rape scenes? does this man have his bird anatomy down I wonder?). I'm not sure if this phenomenon represents an honest fear on the part of the bigoted population that they're going to be phased out of their evolutionary/economic or what (it would make sense with fear of intelligent scavenger birds), but it disturbs me that it's still a highly popular narrative form, even if it's more popular in fantasy than political propaganda (The wolf ad from last year's election has nothing on Willie Horton). This One for Sorrow book is apparently a best-seller even though it sounds basically like a a vile rehash of the "Redwall" books; Peter Jackson felt the need to alter Tolkien's storyline to fit the genocide plot too. Brrr.