The Bird Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Essential Facts and Figures of the World's Birds

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 compilation brings between two covers an array of facts, figures,
and general information about birds, birders, and birdwatching.

About half the space is devoted to a world checklist of birds printed
in double columns. This gives merely the English and scientific names
plus numbers and abbreviations keyed to indications of broad
geographical distribution and current status. There is virtually no room
for personal notes, and most birders who want such a list will need (or
already possess) a full-scale checklist like Clements or Monroe and
Sibley.

Much more useful are details of age expectancy, lists of threatened and
endangered species, information on feeding birds, and especially
listings of birdwatching organizations, journals, videos, audio
recordings, and tour operators. These and other interesting, if hardly
vital, records and statistics fully justify the volume. The lists are
not always comprehensive or totally accurate (so far as tour operators
are concerned, I noticed the absence of Turaco under “Canada,” and
the listing of Field Guides and Victor Emanuel Nature Tours under
“Texas” rather than “Worldwide”). But every birder will learn
something from this book—and it provides ample ammunition for devotees
of ornithological Trivial Pursuit.