The Conference of the Birds

It covers all the birds known to humanity up to the time of Farid ud-Din Attar. The book begins by recounting how these birds gathered one day and decided to search for a bird to crown as their king. The desired bird is the mythical Simorgh, a creature prominently featured in Persian literature since its inception, and the equivalent of the phoenix in Arab legends. The birds decide to embark on a journey to reach the Simorgh. The guide they choose to lead them on this journey is the hoopoe, "who led the wise Solomon to the Queen of Sheba, and whom Allah the Almighty made speak when he said to Solomon: 'I have encompassed what you have not encompassed and I have come to you from Sheba with sure news.'" However, the hoopoe is not the only bird that speaks in "The Conference of the Birds," as all the birds speak (hence the title of the book, although some translate it as "The Gathering" of the Birds, considering the word "mantiq" (logic/speech) to be derived from "nitaq" (domain/scope) rather than "nutaq" (speech), and the matter allows for interpretation and debate in any case).