New Release: “Birds Gone Wild” by Janelle Molony

Now readers can have their fill of the most unusual stories from Arizona’s territorial past. We’re talking about the new nonfiction book, Birds Gone Wild (And Other Stories of Arizona Ostrich Ranching) from critically acclaimed author and historian Janelle Molony (Released Jan. 1, 2026, M Press Publishing).

D. C. Cogburn, of the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch at Picacho Peak, said the new book is “fascinating!” Multi-award-winning Arizona historian Jan Cleere calls it “a delightful romp among these flightless creatures!”

The new book is a humorous pop history of “feather farms” in Arizona, from boom to bust. Readers will be amused by cowboy tales of ostriches running wild through the state. And they’ll be amazed by facts relating to how serious a business this silly-looking bird created.

For example, did you know that Arizona was once as famous for its ostriches as for the Grand Canyon? Or, at the peak of the industry’s boom, Maricopa County alone housed 80% of the nation’s entire population of the enormous two-toed beasts? Arizona even boasted of having the largest single collection of ostriches in the world, which has been unmatched to this day.

The book explores the introduction of ostriches to the American Southwest, what life was like for an “ostrich boy,” the surge of ostrich tourism (before the state had any zoos or other amusement parks), and the full story of the Great Arizona Ostrich Drive—when one rancher decided to march hundreds of ostriches across the Phoenix Valley in a marketing stunt gone terribly wrong.

There is also a good amount of myth-busting with scientific explanations and real-life examples. The book ends with a surprising new opportunity for these so-called “murder birds”: contributing to the betterment of the world in the field of medicine.

Birds Gone Wild is “a fun and offbeat look at Arizona’s past,” says Heidi Osselar, retired professor of history at ASU. About the tone, author Molony has cautioned, “This is not a book for kids. Yes, it’s funny, but sometimes history can get messy or incredibly weird.” As a bonus, the book includes access to two films and instructions for how to cook ruby-red steaks from the state’s prized avian livestock.

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