Those feathered things….
A shout-out here for renowned ornithologist and fellow Oregonian and polar enthusiast, Noah Strycker heralding his recent book, (Riverhead Books, 2014). The author elucidates behaviors in fairy wrens, vultures, bowerbirds, albatrosses and the like in a relaxed and erudite style drawing surprising parallels to human traits. Noah is currently completing a very “big (birding) year” traversing all seven continents hoping to identify at least 5,000 species. His trip will be chronicled in a book to be published by Houghton Mifflin. Check out this interesting and informative read.
ADDENDUM: Noah did indeed complete his Big Year! Traveling to 41 countries in 2015 with a backpack and binoculars, Noah Strycker became the first person to see more than half the world’s 10,000 species of birds in one year. Completing his sojourn in India on one of the last days of the year, he attained 6,042 sightings. His tale is engagingly recounted in the book: Birding without Borders (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017)
Unsurprisingly, his feat has been bested several times since then. His pursuers were no doubt aided by a reclassification of species enacted shortly after his journey.
He has since enrolled as a graduate student at SUNY-Stony Brook choosing a dissertation topic he knows well…penguins!
