Songbirds: Celebrating Nature's Voices

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

For the birder or amateur naturalist prepared to stretch a little,
Orenstein goes beyond the familiar field of Canadian birds by taking a
global perspective.

The structure of the book lends itself to relaxed reading rather than
reference. Orenstein takes the expected topics—food reproduction,
nesting, vocalizations, plumage, migration, environmental threats—and
treats them in an unexpected way: he hops around the globe in search of
interesting examples, so that the reader experiences a change in species
and continent from sentence to sentence. Occasionally this approach is
confusing, but more often it results in a rich, intriguing feast of
information. And information is what this work is all about. It comes
pouring out in great gushes, threatening to wash over the reader at
every turn of the page. Facts, details, examples, and illustrations have
all been packed in until the text is ready to burst its covers.

Orenstein’s style is vigorous and assertive. While he doesn’t shy
away from scientific terminology, he’s always reaching for the
humorous tone or reader-involving phrase. He comes across as
super-knowledgeable, yet next-door approachable.

The first chapter, in which a discussion of the definition of songbirds
is carried on for far too long, is the weakest. Once past that, the
reader can revel in the fascinating bird facts that keep coming and
coming in oversized servings.

The comprehensive, intense text is supported by masses of color photos.
Other extras that enrich the work include Internet information on
birding, a chart of the 550 species mentioned in the text, and sidebars
on field guides, bird feeders, and other such topics.