I recently posted a list of my favorite books of 2016. What about you – what was your favorite?
As a bonus, if you post your answer as a comment here, you’ll be entered to win my favorite book of the year – Listening to a Continent Sing: Birdsong by Bicycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Contest ends 1/23/2017 at 11:59pm eastern. Please include your email when submitting the comment to make it easier to contact you (it won’t be used for anything other than to contact you regarding this contest).
Terms and Conditions:
- Winner will be chosen at random. The winner will be notified after the contest ends. They will then have to provide a mailing address within 3 days of notification, or another winner may be chosen.
- Anyone is eligible to enter. Winners in the United States will have the prizes shipped to them for free. Winners outside the US may be asked to cover some shipping costs.
- There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
Posted by Grant McCreary on January 19th, 2017.
Last year was a great year for bird books. It will make picking a favorite tricky. Bird Brains and The Genius of Birds touch on favorite topics of behavior, but when Bernd Heinrich writes a book there is a good chance it will become a favorite and indeed his book One Wild Bird at a Time ranks as my favorite of 2016. It’s not a long book but it gives its own insight into bird behavior mixed with personal observations. It was a nice read one bird at a time. And anyone who would cut a hole in the interior wall of their cabin with a chainsaw to watch a bird nest definitely gets a thumbs up from me!
Owl should also get an honorable mention because like you wrote, there may be many owl books out there, but the photos are unparalleled and the text very informative. It isn’t the same old owl biology + field guide format of other owl books on my shelf.
Owl. My son got that one for Christmas. Flipping through it, I can’t wait until he is done with it.
“The Most Perfect Thing!”
It could have easily been pedantic and boring, but it was engaging and struck the right balance between facts and anecdotes.
One that was technically published last year but I didn’t get it till now is the “HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2.” It’s just amazing looking at it. I was impressed with the first volume, but I can’t put this one down.
Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls. It’s gorgeous.
Peterson Guide to NA Woodpeckers. Author is someone I’ve known for many years and is a very coo dude. Great book on a great subject!!
Thanks everyone – the winner has been notified. These are all excellent choices, by the way.