Download Birds of the World: 365 Days djvu

First let me say that the quality of this hardcover book is excellent and, for the most part, the photos are of good to excellent quality with a few minor exceptions. The book provides short vignettes descriptive of the bird selected to represent that calendar day. But... the descriptions are very definitely from a French man's perspective. His descriptions of birds that are found only in the Americas are somewhat thin and lack the same "up close and personal" feel of his descriptions of birds he encounters regularly in *his* world.

For example: on the page "August 5" he writes about the *Alder Flycatcher* which is one of 37 species of flycatchers and related species that are found in North America. He says: "Every continent has its nightmare birds -- that is, birds that are a nightmare to identify. In North America, the flycatchers are at the top of the pack. What is challenging for the American ornithologists is a nearly impossible feat for ornithologists from elsewhere who lack the same experience over the years." He says that the flycatchers of North America have "drab and similar plumage" and describes how difficult it is to pick up the slight visual variations that help to identify different species of flycatchers. He then presents a lovely photo of a charming alder flycatcher that catches an impressive amount of detail and even hints at the pugnacious nature of this particular bird. He does not spend any time discussing the amazing repertoire of songs these little mites have developed to differentiate themselves; nor does he mention the reams of research that has been done on the songs of these "plain little birds." (see "The Music of Birds" by Lang Elliot or (the more ambitious)"The Singing Life of Birds" by Donald Kroodsma -- both of which books come with CDs of bird songs that illustrate the ideas they present and help us to appreciate the unique songs that American birders use to identify these individuals. To have this entire, unique group of song birds (flycatchers)reduced to the term "nightmare birds" illustrates the author's European slant.

Having said that, the book itself is gorgeous and works well as a "coffee table" type book, or you can start with today's date and go through the book learning about so many birds you will likely never see. I've chosen to do that and I can't say that my world has not been enlarged by seeing pictures of exotic birds and plain ones and reading a little of what makes them so interesting to people all over the world.

I would have liked to have given the book 4 stars but the Western European bias of the author is so pervasive that I felt that birders/bird watchers would not get all the information they might like to see, and other, more casual readers, might not get enough of the "feeling" for each bird that could entice them to want to learn more.

Summary: Good quality book with mostly excellent photos plus interesting (mostly) vignettes about each bird. Fun premise: read a paragraph or two a day about birds from around the world and get "accidentally educated." But the book is limited by the Western European perspective of the author and since all the birds included are not exotic or particularly beautiful, it can be difficult to maintain interest in the "everyday birds" that Americans may never see outside this book.

This book has fabulous photos and lots of them. I gave it to my elderly mother whose eyesight is poor--the brilliant plates are large enough for her to see and each turn of the page reveals a whole new bird. It's a gorgeous, enjoyable book.

My daughter loves it!

I am an avid bird lover. This was an absolutely wonder addition to my collection. It is packed with beautiful photos of birds, some that I have never even seen before.

Have other bird books however the art and photos are superior, a quality product.

This is also a great book to own if you are a person who loves birds and other animals of the world!! I love to see the reactions of my friends and people I know when they see the bird which represents their Birthday!! I will be buying more as long as I get my books!!!

This book has beautiful photos of many different birds but they are mostly from Europe & Asia. There are very few from North America, which I found disappointing.

The photos are fabulous. The variety of species is wonderful. It is a great book for young and old. Great addition to your collection.