How to Be a BAD Birdcatcher

Science News, June 11, 2005

HOW TO BE A BAD BIRDWATCHER

SIMON BARNES

In this irreverent book, Barnes reveals the hidden joys of being a bad bird-watcher. Most of us can be bad bird-watchers without his coaching. With a good dose of wry humor, however, the author explains the difference between a bad bird-watcher, that is, one who only casually watches birds, and those bird-watchers known as "twitchers," who become obsessed with catching a glimpse of some rare specimen before it flies away. In contrast, being a bad birdwatcher, he says, brings a sense of richness and calm to one's everyday life. Barnes gives tips on how to get beyond bad bird-watching, such as the unsurprising advice to stand closer to rather than farther from, birds and to get a pair of binoculars and a field guide. But he maintains that identifying hundreds of birds by sight and name is not necessary for enjoying them. Full of amusing anecdotes about the author's adventures in bird-watching and his philosophy on birds as part of the meaning of life, this delightful book should inspire readers to go outside and look again at their feathered friends. Pantheon, 2005, 240 p., hardcover, $17.95.