KAKAPO RESCUE

Under the careful supervision of forest rangers and volunteers on an island off the New Zealand coast, the nearly extinct, flightless Kakapo parrot is the object of an intensive rescue effort described by this experienced writer-photographer team. Montgomery and Bishop waited five years for the opportunity to visit Codfish Island to document this work. They’ve hatched a fascinating account of their all-too-short but eventful stay. The author’s well-organized narrative includes information about the parrots’ habits, their near disappearance and current island habitat and the activities of those who monitor each individual parrot through occasional physical capture and daily radio telemetry observations, watch nests and provide supplemental food. Describing triumph and tragedy, she movingly conveys the magic of the forest and of an accidental encounter with a parrot in the wild. As always, the photographer’s remarkable and clearly reproduced photographs support and enhance the text. The book’s careful design is unobtrusive: The progress of an opening egg sets off page numbers, and fern patterns provide a subtle decoration. Bibliography and a website encourage readers’ further explorations. Wonderful. (Scientists in the Field Series) (map, fundraising plug, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 9-13)