Lifebirds

I first read this book a couple of years ago. I just reread it, confirming my earlier impression: this book accurately and beautifully conveys what birding means to me. Each chapter is organized around a particular, memorable bird in the author's experience. Although he admits he's not a particularly skilled birder, he is certainly an accomplished writer. His descriptions of the surprise of birding--finding a Carolina Wren on a snowy day at Montauk when he thought he'd be looking for seabirds, or hearing the witchity-witchity of the first Common Yellothroat of spring--resonated perfectly with my own experience. A gem of a book!

This is a wonderful, thoughtful book about the meaning of birding: how it changes us and our relationships with others. Levine is a sophisticated thinker and a clear writer, and discovers facets to our hobby that most of us never dreamed existed. Buy it, read it.