Customer Reviews

Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur (t)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

To quote one of the people in Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur, Sy Montgomery's goal in this book is allow readers to "experiences the divinity of creation revealed in the birds." Montgomery profiles chickens, cassowaries, hummingbirds, hawks, pigeons, parrots, and crows, each with its unique personality quirks and traits. The end result is a delight to read, especially for avid birders or ornithologists.

Birdology isn't a natural history of birds or observations of them in the wild. Ironically, most of the birds Montgomery meets live in captivity of some sort, from her chickens (the "Ladies") to hawks used for falconry (only the cassowaries were truly wild birds). In fact, each chapter seems to focus both on a different species of bird and a person who knows it well, such as a pigeon racer or hummingbird vet.

I had mixed feelings about this. Obviously, birds are at their fullest in the wild, and that's where it would really be great to see them. At times, Birdology feels a bit too much like a book about "people and their birds." On the other hand, focusing on these particular birds allows Montgomery to really get to know them well and provide detailed observations. For example, after years of watching her hens in her backyard, she has noticed that certain personality traits are passed from one generation to the next - what we would call culture. Chicken culture - imagine that!

While Montgomery loves her birds, she resists the temptation to anthropomorphize them. In fact, the best parts of Birdology discuss how birds are different from humans in ways we don't yet fully appreciate. Many birds still have strong instinctual impulses, from the gull chicks who incessantly peck at red objects to the overwhelming urge birds of prey have to hunt (known as "yarak"). She also suggests Alex, the famous African Grey Parrot, had trouble learning some colors because parrot vision recognizes a broader spectrum of colors than does our own.

I do wish Montgomery had chosen more birds to profile, especially when the goal of her book is to give readers some sense of what it means to be a bird. Some of the stories of the more familiar birds have been told in different forms elsewhere. For example, the discussion of Alex the Parrot is also the subject of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process. Others birds, such as pigeons and crows, are fascinating if not exotic. It would have been nice for example to have had a chapter on penguins, a very different type of bird, or the great wandering albatrosses (the subject of Carl Safina's wonderful Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival). There are so many types of birds - over 10,000 species - so it's impossible to cover them all, but I definitely felt there was room in the book for a few more.

Reading Birdology, one gets the feeling that it would be really fun to just be Sy Montgomery. Some of the relationships she's had with birds are truly magical. She doesn't just describe the birds, but also tries to share how it felt emotionally to be in the presence of such wonderful animals. I thought it fascinating for example to hear her describe the hawk as master and the human handling it as the servant. For those of us who haven't been able to spend much time with birds, Birdology conveys that sense of wonder.

Note: If you want a straight up natural history of birds, I might suggest David Attenborough's The Life of Birds or Colin Tudge's The Bird: A Natural History of Who Birds Are, Where They Came From, and How They Live. The latter is a bit dry, but comprehensive.

Having read "The Good, Good Pig" by the same author, I was excited to try her book on birds. What a treat! You'll learn the truth about birds you thought you knew, and meet some new ones you probably never even heard of. Highly recommended.

I have read all of author/naturalist Sy Montgomery's books. In Birdology, Montgomery manages again to do what she does so well: to blend extensive information about animals with enormous empathy for them, with unusual insights into their lives derived from her personal experiences with diverse creatures. Birdology looks at the lives and abilities and evolution of birds from this unique perspective, using several particular species as exemplars. Along the way one also learns about her adventures while exploring the avian world. This is a wonderfully engaging book; I enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend it to all!

BIRDOLOGY: ADVENTURES WITH A PACK OF HENS, A PECK OF PIGEONS, CANTANKEROUS CROWS, FIERCE FALCONS, HIP HOP PARROTS, BABY HUMMINGBIRDS, AND ONE MURDEROUSLY BIG LIVING DINOSAUR provides general interest libraries with a fun account answering questions about avian personalities and present birds. Each chapter tells about a relationship or adventure with a bird whose species illustrates keys on what makes a bird a bird. Lively, fun leisure reading for aviary fans and general fans of wildlife evolves.

This book is an affectionate look at a number of different birds. There is a lot of information around descriptions of particular birds and experiences the author has had with them.

I read an extract from this book in an airline magazine and fell in love with the writer and the subject. I found the chapters to be very comprehensive and interesting - not just a technical book - but one that was from practical experience with some technical jargon when needed. I recommend it to anyone who loves birds.

Very interesting, especially the Chicken portion. What was said could have been done better, with less repeats. I love birds, so I am glad that I bought it. Learned some new things.

The author's stories of her encounters with and research on various bird species is a terrific read. Readers who enjoy reading about what makes both animals and people tick will enjoy the insights this book offers. While it isn't a book that a serious birdwatcher might find illuminating about that particular passion, those who love and enjoy birds will find themselves intriqued with individual bird species and with individual birds themselves. We are lucky to share the planet with such a variety of birds, from chickens to exotic ones the author describes. Animal lovers of all stripes will find the stories interesting, heartwarming and informational. I've since given the book as a gift and also provided it as a Kindle download for friends.

Sy Montgomery has spent a lifetime traveling the world and sharing her great respect for nature with us. Like her last book, The Good, Good Pig, most of this book takes place closer to home, rather than the wilds of the Amazon or the mountains of China. She begins with the chickens on her farm, and this chapter is one of my favorite. The "girls" really do have personalities and their daily life is much more interesting than I realized. The techniques for saving hummingbirds and parrots were also chapters I enjoyed. Her adventure with the falcon was my least favorite, and it's my guess that she had trouble with it too. Training a bird to kill another bird is hard for me to justify as a sport, but Sy tried to best to reason with it. Skip around and read the chapters you are most interested in first, or read it from cover to cover. Either way, it's another winner for an author who doesn't get enough recognition for her excellent writing.

Sy Montgomery shares her love of animals with her very personal adventures with several types. Each chapter reveals both facts and peccadilloes about a bird species she has sought out and spent a good deal of time with. This is not a book for experts nor will it make you one when you complete reading it, but you will gain in appreciation for the majesty and diversity of our fine feathered friends.