Wild Birds Across the Prairies

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

This is a decidedly attractive book to pick up and glance through. At
the same time, it is not clear what kind of readership the author and
publishers envisage.

As Wayne Lynch notes in his introduction, some 350 species of bird can
be found on the Canadian prairies and those of the northern United
States. This book covers slightly less than a quarter of these, and
concentrates on the more familiar species, or, in the words of the
introduction, “birds that are relatively easy to find.” Each species
is illustrated by a splendid color photograph, and the text gives useful
scientific information that one would expect from a field guide,
including helpful hints on identification and favored habitat. All well
and good, but the selection process remains a problem. Serious birders
will want accounts of the more unusual species; casual readers will
probably look at the pictures and merely skim the text. In addition, the
absence of an alphabetical index makes the book difficult to use if you
want to locate a bird rather than just admire a photograph.

In a sense, this is a coffee-table book; printed on fine paper and
generously proportioned, it is unsuitable for “the field.” One
suspects that it is intended primarily as a plea for the conservation of
natural habitat—which is certainly an admirable motive. To quote the
introduction again: “The best way to preserve these last remnants of
prairie grasslands and their wildlife is to understand what we will lose
if we do nothing to protect them.” Excellent sentiments, and I
sincerely hope the book will have the intended impact.

A pleasant volume, then, and I’m happy to possess a copy. But I still
wish that it had a clearer focus.