The Birds (story)

"The Birds" is a short story by Daphne du Maurier about Nat Hocken and his family being attacked by birds. It is set in Britain, shortly after the end of World War II. It was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds. It is thought to have been inspired by the author's watching a man ploughing his field, with gulls and ravens inevitably surrounding him in search of worms, and wondering how much of a chance he would stand if the birds were to turn on him.