How to Be a BAD Birdcatcher.HOW TO BE A BAD BIRDWATCHER bird watcher or bird·watch·er also bird-watch·er n. A person who observes and identifies birds in their natural surroundings. bird watching n. SIMON Simon, in the Bible. 1 One of the Maccabees. 2 or Simon Peter: see Peter, Saint. 3 See Simon, Saint. 4 Kinsman of Jesus. 5 Leper of Bethany in whose house a woman anointed Jesus' feet. 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 humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was , 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 ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. 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 feath·ered adj. 1. Covered, provided, or adorned with feathers. 2. Having feathering, as an animal's coat. 3. Moving swiftly: feathered feet. 4. friends. Pantheon, 2005, 240 p., hardcover, $17.95. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion