Harper Collins UK, publishers of such cornerstone natural history titles as the Collins Bird Guide, British Wildlife, and the monumental New Naturalists series, has now brought online Collins Birds, an exciting new website for bird watchers that combines social networking with extensive online bird reference and reporting resources. Drawing upon Collins’ extensive catalog of bird information compiled through years of producing some of the world’s finest field guides, this new free site offers users the opportunity to look up information on a particular species, report a sighting, maintain a personal checklist, review the latest real-time sightings near them on a satellite map, create sighting alerts for specific birds or locations, help out with user-submitted mystery bird sightings, upload and rate photos, make new friends, and participate in online discussions in the forum. Read the rest of this entry »

If only the eleventh chapter of Elizabeth J. Rosenthal’s Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson was the entirety of the book, it would still be well worth the cover price; for it is in this chapter, titled “DDT, the Osprey, and the Old Lyme Offspring,” that Rosenthal recounts in exquisite detail what is all too often neglected or underplayed when the life story of Peterson is told. Fortunately, Rosenthal has chosen a somewhat unusual style for her biography of Peterson; one more thematic than strictly chronologic and from this is able to draw more focused attention to threads that spanned years and even decades throughout his life. Read the rest of this entry »

“Everyone is a birdwatcher, but there are two kinds of birdwatchers: those who know what they are and those who haven’t realized it yet.” So begins The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature, Jonathan Rosen’s investigation into not only the history of bird watching but into its very underlying spirit. While others have previously produced histories of the activity, anthologies of its artistic creations both written and pictorial, and veritable libraries full of instructional guides, Mr. Rosen, an accomplished novelist and presently the editorial director at Nextbook, has in this present work given the bird watching community a portrait of itself that discloses many of its deeper psychological aspects that have been too often missed by previous authors. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it – natural history enthusiasts can sometimes be a tough lot for whom to buy gifts; especially if you don’t personally share, or even know much about, their particular interests. Alternatively, even if you do share a common interest with the gift-worthy person or people in your life, you might be at a bit of a loss as to just which of the superb collection of recently released titles from which to choose. For that reason, we present The Well-read Naturalist list of holiday gift book picks to help with your gift-giving needs. Some have already been previously reviewed on this site while others are still awaiting a full and complete published review; however even those titles appearing in this list that have not yet received a formal review here have been nevertheless been critically examined and deemed worthy of detailed published comment in the very near future. Read the rest of this entry »

Two of the possible definitions for the word “pathological” offered by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary are “altered or caused by a disease” and “being such to a degree that is extreme, excessive, or markedly abnormal.” While allowing for vast differences in the perspectives of those contemplating it, and certainly not to levy any moral judgment upon it, it is difficult not to conclude that Phoebe Snetsinger’s dedication to birding was indeed pathological. However once this definition is applied, the deeper and more difficult questions emerge. Was the disease cancer, depression, or the misogyny of mid-twentieth century America? Where is the line rightly drawn between hobby and obsession? In Life List, Olivia Gentile doesn’t necessarily answer these questions; however she does elicit them in the mind of the reader, and in the process adding a level of humanity to the story of Phoebe’s (it seems too formal to refer to her as Mrs. Snetsinger) life that makes it relevant and interesting to readers both within and without the birding community. Read the rest of this entry »