Dangerous Birds

a naturalist's aviary

Plot

"Dangerous" birds can be as plain as sparrows or as light and elusive as hummingbirds, so long as they catch hold of human fascination and never let go. In this brilliant book, Janet Lembke visits some of these dangerous birds, letting us share in her love and knowledge of birds and the unique sense of wonder they inspire. "Watching birds," she says, is one way. . .of contemplating what it is to be alive."Earthy, practical, and humor filled, these pieces are as varied as the feathered species that blow over Lembke's watery front yard, the Lower Neuse River. "A Bird in the Hand" speaks of the kingfisher, and the author's rare, ultimately fruitless try at a rescue of a wounded bird. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Grackle" looks at. . .just that. In the title piece, Lembke faces off with a local shooter, and eater, of songbirds.Dangerous Birds offers some of today's best writing and thinking about the natural world.