A-Z of Birds: A Birder's Tales from Around the World by Bo Beolens
In these entertaining birding anecdotes from around the world, Bo Beolens, alias the 'Fatbirder', traverses many of the planet's wild places, along with his wife Maggie, looking at birds - some familiar, others exotic, a few beyond a person's most extravagant expectations. On the way, he meets up with a wide variety of human, animal and bird characters and experiences a plenitude of amusing and sometimes bizarre happenstances, all told with the author's wellknown flair and panache. Certainly, his travels are a credit to his courage and fortitude in coming to terms with wild birds of different plume, hue and voice. The book, with a prelude by celebrity naturalist and broadcaster Mike Dilger, comprises twenty-six alphabetical 'chapters' - starting with A for Anhinga, the Snake-bird, and ending with Z for Zebra Finch - each being accompanied by a humorous drawing by cartoonist and illustrator Des Campbell. A-Z of Birds will surely amuse and entertain all those who have a passion for birds and wish to be inspired by one who already has lots of first-hand experience of how to (usually) get the most out of travelling to far-flung lands to see them.