Hoose, Phillip. Moonbird. Macmillan/Farrar
Strauss 148p $21.99 978-0-374-30468-3 2012 ms/hs E-BN Nonfiction
This superb
book offers an in-depth look at the life of one of the long-distance flyers of the bird world. B95, nicknamed Moonbird because the distance he has flown would have
taken him to the moon and halfway back, is a rufa red knot, a member of a
rapidly diminishing species. Written in an engaging manner and
beautifully presented, the author offers a scientific travelogue of the
yearlong expedition following the migration route of these small shore birds
from the tip of Tierra del Fuego to Delaware Bay to the Canadian Arctic. The book is filled with unique descriptions
of these amazing athletes and their natural world and is greatly enhanced by
exceptional color photographs that show the birds and the environmental aspects
of each region. Hoose discusses the life
of B95 from his hatching twenty years ago and focuses on the bird’s physical
characteristics, behavior, social interaction, survival in the wild, and
contact with other animals and man. He
continues by describing B95’s continued existence today in chapters that
feature the important landmarks of his flight patterns and the anatomical
changes these birds undergo during migration.
He describes each region and its importance to the birds and highlights
specific researchers working there. This
incredible book is utterly fascinating and compelling and will lead the readers
on to more research and, perhaps, conservation efforts. It ends with an appendix of further
activities and conservation groups, copious sources notes, a large
bibliography, and an index.
Bird
migrations --Susan Ogintz
