In his most recent book “The Birds That Audubon Missed,” Kenn Kaufman examines the lives and activities of the colourful, larger than life, often eccentric individuals whose names are now famous in the history of Nineteenth Century ornithology to discover what they accomplished and what they overlooked or simply got wrong.
While I held many delightful conversations at the recently concluded Birdfair with friends both old and new, one person I kept repeatedly missing was Mark Avery. Oh I had sightings – coming upon Mark and his friends from Birders Against Wildlife Crime as I was exiting the Authors’ Forum following the conclusion of Tessa Boase’s brilliant presentation of her new Mrs. Pankhurst’s Purple Feather, stumbling upon him meeting with a table-full of fellows outside the Celestron stand. Unfortunately, each time our paths crossed, one or the other of us lacked the available time for a nice cuppa and a sit-down.
Just what would you do for a pet fish? Would you pay $100 for one? $1000? $10,000? Would you lie? Cheat? Steal? Would you kidnap another person? Would you kill for one? While this may seem hyperbolic, when it comes to the Asian Arowana, the subject of Emily Voigt’s The Dragon Behind the Glass; A […]