![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And albatrosses, with their twelve foot wing spans, are suspected to fly around four million miles in their lifetimes. Penguins might be graceful swimmers, but they hesitate to jump in the water unless another penguin has entered (usually by being shoved in) first. It turns out hummingbirds are self serving bullies, and owls will murder just about anything. The image of a teenage Strycker hauling home a roadkill deer to attract turkey vultures to his backyard for a photography project might be one of the most memorable and endearing scenes of the book. Somehow, Strycker's enthusiasm spread to me, the reader, and I became enthralled by the world of pigeon racing, by the craftiness of the bowerbird, by the pecking order of chicken coops. I could feel his excitement as he perched at the edge of a cliff in Falkland Islands while thousands of albatrosses glided beneath and above him his determination as he slogged across a mudflat in Oregon for miles, hoping to spot a snowy owl his patience during the six months he watched a nest of fairy wrens in northwest Australia, carefully measuring how much effort each member contributed to the nest. Strycker observes and analyzes the body, mind, and spirit of thirteen species of birds, and his delight in observing them is a joy to be shared. The "surprising lives of birds" make for a surprisingly exciting read. ![]()
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