Book Review: The Healing Wisdom of Birds

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I received several books for Christmas. I have lots of books about birds, so it can be challenging for my family to find something I don't already have.

One of the books I got this year is The Healing Wisdom of Birds by Leslie Morrison. In addition to birds, I have a deep interest in mythology and comparative religion, so this was a good find. It is not a book about the natural history of birds (although there is some information on certain birds scattered throughout the book). Therefore, if your interest lies only in knowing more about bird biology, behavior, and identification, this would not be a good option for you. However, birds have touched human lives and cultures throughout our history. If that interests you, then give this book a read.

The book isn't very long (a little over 200 pages) and is a relatively easy read.

The book discusses the symbology of different birds in history as well as many myths associated with birds and the gods/goddesses they represent. The majority of the book discusses the use of bird feathers in various healing rites. (Keep in mind that it is not legal to have in your possession feathers of any wild bird without a permit--the author did mention she has permits).

I did find the short section on alchemy especially interesting. In most discussion of alchemy the focus is on the chemical transformation of base metals into gold. What I had not seen discussed in other books is the alchemical philosophy on spiritual growth. The various stages of spiritual enlightenment are represented by different birds. For me, this short section was worth the cost of the book.

An interesting read overall. Personally, I would have liked a more in-depth review of mythology and symbology, but as the title says, the focus of the book is healing, so it is appropriate to spend most of the book on the details of that. That part of the book was less interesting to me personally.

As it happens a book arrived in the mail shortly after Christmas on bird symbology, so that's in the TBR pile. I'll review that book later.

Good birding!

Bird Books!

 

If there is one thing my family knows I would like for a gift at Christmas it is a bird book. Their challenge is to find one I don't have.

This year, I received two. I have provided pictures. Obviously, I took them with my cell phone in poor lighting, but I never claimed to be a decent photographer.

I have only browsed them so far, but will post reviews once I have had an opportunity to read them (I received several books for Christmas touching on many of my interests, so it may take a few weeks).

Good birding!

Book Review: The Jewel Hunter

Princeton University Press sent me a copy of Chris Gooddie's The Jewel Hunter for review. This is a story of his journey to see every one of the world's most elusive groups of birds--the pittas--in a single year.

The first chapter is his description of how he decided to quit his day job and spend a year following his passion. He was 45 and his desire to see his favorite birds required rugged travel in the rain forests. Additionally, pitta's are under a lot of pressure due to habitat loss, so the longer he waited, the more likely some of the 32 species of pitta would be extinct.

The rest of the book is a description on his journey through several countries, looking for these secretive birds in the rain forests of Asia, Africa and Australia. One of my favorite sentences in the book (as it sums up the life of birdwatchers everywhere): "My six and a half days of searching had finally paid off with a glorious, three-second view of the whole bird."

The summary:

• Eleven months
• 200,000 km (approximately 120,000 miles) traveled
• 30,000 pounds (approximately $47,800 today)
• Lost 13 kilos in weight (about 28 lbs)
• Saw 1,970 species of birds (about 1/5 of the world's total)
• Found all 32 species of pittas

It includes his pictures (definitely not professional photos) of the landscapes, people and animals he saw on his journeys.  Overall, an interesting book about a man on a mission.

This book is $25.95 from Princeton University Press and from Amazon.

Good birding!

Book Review: Birds of North America and Greenland

Princeton University Press was once again nice enough to send me a new birding book for review. I have been out of town for a few weeks, so am just now getting the chance to take a careful look at the book, published November 2.

Birds of North America and Greenland, by Norman Arlott is a relatively inexpensive, compact volume. My first thought was, "North America and Greenland?" But it makes sense, as Greenland shares its birds with Canada and the northeastern United States. The book covers 900 species on 102 color plates. The paintings are beautiful and accompanied by short notes and thumbnail range maps.

The book is listed as an illustrated checklist, but has some basic elements of a field guide. As long as you remember the book is not intended to be a field guide, you'll be happy with the book. It would definitely be easier to carry in the field than your Sibley or Crossley. You should be able to narrow down the possibilities for your bird until you can take the time to cross reference your field guides later.

If I were looking for a book for a new birder, this would not be it, but it would be a worthy supplement to a birder's library--easy to tuck into a suitcase on a trip when a larger, more detailed field guide may be more than you want to carry. Priced at $15.95/$10.63 on Amazon, it would be an appreciated stocking stuffer for Christmas.

Good birding!

Can You Ever Have Too Much Bird Stuff?

Last night was our local bird club meeting. Invariably, someone has a new book, new optics, new field gear, or a new article from one of the magazines he/she subscribes to. The conversations almost always include laments that we have too much of whatever. But we don't seem to be able to help ourselves.

It's relatively easy to justify another field guide. After all, there is so much information that can't be included in a given guide, that each of them has slightly different information that will lead to an identification on a tough bird. But do we need 5 or 6 bird magazines? Do we need to be members of half a dozen organizations devoted to our hobby? Evidently, we do. Because we put up the money.

I am a relatively low tech birder. Mostly because I can't afford to replace anything that costs more than $50--at least, as many times as I would have to do it. I can be absolutely depended upon to drop, bump, forget, or otherwise break whatever expensive piece of technology I have. For Christmas last year, my husband was determined that I buy a new pair of binoculars because one pair of mine was stolen and the other pair had been super glued multiple times and still only had one usable side. So I searched and compared and finally bought a pair on binoculars.com for half price. Still $300. Guess what? I had them 3 months and bumped them on something and they now have a little bit of a blur on one side. So I am back to a monocular.

I absolutely can resist bird "pretties." If it has to be dusted, I can usually resist. I'd rather be out in the field than cleaning. However, when a person finds out I like birds, they seem compelled to give me bird stuff. If it has a bird on it, I must like it, right? I have been on the receiving end of more ugly bird stuff than any person should have to accept.

But if there is a new bird book out there, I have to have it--after all, you can never have too many bird books.