[Penguin Readers Level 2] The idea for this famous story came to du Maurier one day when she was walking across to Menabilly Barton farm from the house. She saw a farmer busily ploughing a field whilst above him the seagulls were diving and wheeling. She developed an idea about the birds becoming hostile and attacking him. In her story, the birds become hostile after a harsh winter with little food—first the seagulls, then birds of prey, and finally even small birds—all turn against mankind. The nightmarish vision appealed to Hitchcock who turned it into the celebrated film.