And Other Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask
Mike O’Connor
Although I tend to shy away from books that written in a question and answer format (just another quirk I guess), I liked reading this book. Perhaps because I saw a bit of myself in the smart-alec humor, but mostly because the material is divided into logical order with chapters that kind of take you along the bird appreciation knowledge curve. I have to say that the very last line of the book gave me pause, (as in, “Is this guy a jerk or just being funny?”), but I’ll let other readers be the judge. Here’s what the publisher says, “
A beginner's guide filled with wisdom and humor, based on Mike O'Connor's beloved "Ask the Bird Folks" columns
“Mike O'Connor knows birds—I mean, REALLY knows them. He has been answering questions about birds for years, and he can deliver the straight scoop with a hilarious twist that makes it unforgettable. Reading this book is almost as much fun as bird watching, and that's saying a lot!”
—Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
In 1983, Mike O'Connor opened the Bird Watcher's General Store on Cape Cod, which might well have been the first store devoted solely to birding in the United States. Since that time he has answered thousands of questions about birds, both at his store and while walking down the aisles of the supermarket. The questions have ranged from inquiries about individual species ("Are flamingos really real?") to what and when to feed birds ("Should I bring in my feeders for the summer?") to the down-and-dirty specifics of backyard birding ("Why are the birds dropping poop in my pool?"). Answering the questions has been easy; keeping a straight face has been hard.
Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches? is the solution for the beginning birder who already has a book that explains the slight variation between Common Ground-Doves and Ruddy Ground-Doves but who is really much more interested in why birds sing at 4:30 A.M. instead of 7:00 A.M., or whether it's okay to feed bread to birds, or how birds rediscover your feeders so quickly when you've just filled them after a long vacation. Or, for that matter, whether flamingos are really real.”
Paper, 224 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 ˝ inches, b&w illustrations, April 2007
