We nod sagely when the environment comes up, but are we really hearing what’s said? Three books urge us to listen.

Exactly 60 years ago, Rachel Carson warned of a Silent Spring. Has it come? The migrants are slow, reluctant and in declining numbers. The hedgerows whisper rather than bustle. A salutary moment, then, to read Patrick Galbraith’s In Search of One Last Song: Britain’s Disappearing Birds and the People Trying to Save Them (William Collins, £18.99; Tablet price £17.09), a learned study of encounters with those for whom Carson’s nightmare is just around the corner. Can we save the turtle dove, the capercaillie, the corncrake and the nightingale? Think of this: lots of people watch birds, but how many listen; and who is listening to the rural craftsfolk who once sustained their homes?