Let’s get my only gripe about this book out of the way – it’s a silly title which gives a slightly false impression of the contents. These are not ‘curious’ tales they are 101 quite finely honed essays about the interesting biology of species that you might well see if you were birding in East Africa.
I was sent the book (thank you!), to consider reviewing, by my publishers but had I just seen the title I would not have guessed what an excellent book this is. The author is a Prof at York and has lived, worked and studied birds in East Africa and thus is a very well qualified for such an undertaking.
Many of the photographic images (almost always two per species) are superb but some are not. If anything, the images would make an even bigger impact if their number had been reduced and thus freed up a little more space for words, or a slightly larger font. But there are very many beautiful images here which enhance the book greatly, and bring the words to life as the reader can stare into the eyes of the species on the right hand page whilst thinking about what they have learned from the account on the left hand page.
The species accounts are short but informative – each takes an aspect of the species and tells us the details in a clear manner. There is a lot to learn about birds and the author is a good mentor. I guessed at what the story would be as I turned each page and often got it wrong – the author clearly has a mastery of the biology of African birds. And so we learn of migration, evolution, mating systems, nomenclature, longevity, breeding strategies, ecology and so much more.
The reference list is very helpful, the index is too, and the pithy introduction does its job well.
The author claims, on the back cover, to be happiest when holding a cold beer in one hand and binoculars in the other – that has always struck me as a recipe for spilling beer and missing birds – but the dexterity with which he has led us through the biology of these species suggests not only that he is a man who can multi-task but also that he richly deserves those beers.
The cover? Lovely! Is it genuine? Which way is that insect heading? I like it and would give it 9/10.
101 Curious Tales of East African Birds by Colin Beale is published by Pelagic.
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