Book Review - Birds in Winter - Princeton University Press

     Roger F. Pasquier has done us a great service in writing this book.

     One of the first things I do when checking a reference book is to examine the bibliography, which can on first blush provide an insight into the level of scholarship applied. Pasquier's work checks in at an impressive thirty-three pages. A quick review of the authors cited reveals many internationally renowned scholars in the fields of climate change, population and distribution of birds, migration, energy expenditure and so on. One senses already that one is in good hands!
     Pasquier has synthesized all of these scholarly contributions into a well-organized and highly readable book. It can be read by the layman with ease, yet contains a wealth of scientific information with no loss of precision or dilution of impact.
     I think that when we contemplate the notion of birds in winter, we immediately dwell on our own experiences of winter, and conclude that the book is about avian survival in harsh snowy landscapes, with ice storms and bitter temperatures, and the difficulty of finding enough food to survive the long cold nights. The book is about all of that, but also examines in great detail the impact of winter for migratory birds, those species that leave our northern (or austral) climes to escape the cold and to occupy warmer regions of the planet.
     They too face challenges, not of cold but of adapting to a new and different landscape, smaller than their breeding range, and  which of necessity must be shared with resident species - and that assumes they survive the hazards of migration. And all of this takes place in the context of a rapidly warming planet.
     The book is arranged in a systematic fashion, with one topic following on from another in a seamless way - for example, 1. Responding to Winter, 2. Preparing for Winter, 3. Winter Ranges and Habitat Selection in Migratory Birds - and so on. It is throughout illustrated by incredibly lovely back-and-white drawings by Margaret La Farge, a name new to me I confess, but one which I hope to encounter often.

     This kind of visually appealing art, bound closely to the text, enhances the work in barely quantifiable fashion yet one is conscious of its impact on the pleasure of reading the book.

     At the end of each chapter there is a brief summary and it is concise and accurate. Do not be lulled into the shortcut of only reading the summary, however, there is simply too much to be absorbed in the pages of each chapter.
     The final two chapters deal with the inter-related topics of Conservation and Climate Change, the most pressing issues of our day, and both are anthropogenic in origin and solution. The surging tide of humanity, the effects of our technology, our willful destruction of the environment, a willingness to pollute the atmosphere (and continue doing it even though we already have undeniable evidence of the havoc we are wreaking), and our disregard for life forms other than our own, bode poorly for the continuation of a diverse array of avian life. 
     The "Canary in the Coal Mine" aphorism has perhaps been overworked in recent years, yet its message is undeniable. We ignore the fate of birds at our own peril. We only have one world to share and only we can make the choice to preserve it for both birds and humans. Whatever fate birds face mirrors our own.
     This is a very fine work. I will return to it often and hope that as the years go by I will be able to rejoice in human sanity and beneficence rather than despair further about human arrogance and stupidity.

Birds in Winter: Surviving the Most Challenging Season
Roger F. Pasquier
Illustrated by Margaret La Farge
Hardcover - $29.95 - 9780691178554 - 304 pages - 85 black-and-white illustrations - 4 maps - 6 1/8" x 9 1/4" 
Publication date: 13 August 2019