STORIES ABOUT BIRDS AND BIRD WATCHERS

by Mary Beacom--Ed. Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1980

A thoroughly likable, varied bunch of essayettes on birders and birding from Bird Watcher's Digest. The pieces run from the expectably Bombeckish (Gerry Bennett's guide to ""common varieties of bird-watchers""--Disdainful Dan, Alibi Al, et al.), to the endearingly Californian (Ron Naveen's mock-rap, featuring a woman with a ""very supportive husband"" who lets her develop ""her own identity in the birding family""), to the genuinely mystical: Michael Modzelewski's failed attempt to aid an eagle shot in the wing, which ends with his removing the long bone of the good wing and, from the bone, fashioning a flute. For balance there is James Vardaman's ""In Quest of Number 689,"" an inadvertent reminder of just how unattractive an obsession with listing can be. The editor has sensibly interleaved accounts of exemplary birding experiences with pieces illustrating attitudes toward birding, and inserted headnotes where context was called for. Attractively illustrated too, this will be as welcome to birders as a pot luck after a big count--which is just what it recalls.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION