Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere With Migratory Birds
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.13 (643 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0865475911 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 420 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-02-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Living on the Wind is a magisterial work of nature writing.. Migration paths form an elaborate global web that shows serious signs of fraying, and Weidensaul delves into the tragedies of habitat degradation and deforestation with an urgency that brings to life the vast problems these miraculous migrants now face. Bird migration is the world's only true unifying natural phenomenon, stitching the continents together in a way that even the great weather systems fail to do. Scott Weidensaul follows awesome kettles of hawks over the Mexican coastal plains, bar-tailed godwits that hitchhike on gale winds 7,000 miles nonstop across the Pacific from Alaska to New Zealand, and myriad songbirds whose numbers have dwindled so dramatically in recent decades
--Maria Dolan. Yet even the tiniest of birds perform such miracles." For anyone curious about the lives of migratory birds (and, incidentally, those of bird-obsessed humans), this book is a great nest of information. "To think of crossing thousands of miles under our own power is as incomprehensible as jumping the moon. From Alaska to Lake Erie to the limestone forests of Jamaica, Weidensaul reaches not only for the scientific particulars but for the universal stories and humanizing, descriptive turns of phrase that keep this book from bogging down in statistics and jargon. Did you know that neither temperature nor hunger sparks bird migration? That many species
Tales of migration that read like a Crichton novel B. Bloodworth This is absolutely one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. Not only backyard birding enthusiasts, but anyone who has ever had even a passing interest in birds will love this book. Scott writes about birds in an understanding yet scientific manner that lends itself to wonderful readability while providing vast amounts of information. Beginning in Alaska, moving down the hemisphere to the pampas of Argentina, and back again, h. Nature at its best Audrey Scott Weidensaul is a very good writer and keeps you interested in his subject. He is widely traveled and very knowledgeable about his subject. Anyone who loves nature and birds will be happy to read this book and all of his books.. "Bird Watching" according to A Customer. If you are interested in a personal account of the author's bird watching, banding, and discussions of ecology, this is a fine book. If you are interested in the hows and whys of bird migration, however, you could do just as well by glancing in an encyclopedia. The mystery of migration gets short shrift and most of what remains are the author's ramblings about his own experiences. Nice title though.