Why do people become so deeply enamored of birds? If you are lucky enough to receive a copy of Jeffrey Fisher's long awaited book on the subject, as I did yesterday, the answer is spelled out by the artist in his Introduction:

"This book is nothing but an enthusiasm for birds. There being a bevy of collective terms for our winged friends - a murmuration of starlings, a ubiquity of sparrows, an unkindness of ravens, an exultation of larks, a pandemonium of parrots - here be an enthusiasm of birds. We gaze upon them with envy from our collective windows. They are unmindful of frontiers, direct ascendants from the dinosaur, and I for one wish that I too were a bird."

Three by Jeffrey Fisher, from Birds. Copyright the artist, courtesy Chronicle Books.

The artist's adoration of avian antics is matched by that of the writer, Christine Fisher, who is also a potter, a gardener, and his wife. To wit (to-woo!), a few examples that demonstrate the enjoyment they experienced in the interest of research:

The nocturnal Barn Owl, with its all-seeing eyes, is rendered in limpid blue strokes against an indigo background. We learn that this night hunter relies more on hearing than sight to nab his prey, and that his highly adapted wing feathers ensure silent flight.

The Hoopoe, a beauty in orange, with zebra-striped wing feathers and crest, has nasty habits that keep her from being gobbled up by others. She and her chicks exude a vile odor that deters predators, and her nestlings squirt feces, with incredible accuracy, at intruders.

The Long Tailed Tit is a small, soft, fluffy number with a tiny sharp beak. These charmers roost in gangs by winter for warmth and help one another with domestic chores. Their homes, "lavishly constructed ball-shaped nests made of feathers, spider-webs, soft dry moss, and lichen," sound better than a down jacket in cold weather.

From the commonplace to the exotic, the Fishers offer the kind of engaging information bird lovers just won't find in a standard field guide. The Superb Lyrebird, for example, occupies several different platforms high in the treetops for showing off his amazing tail feathers. Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, described as accomplished mimics and dancers, are "notorious for flying in open windows and pilfering any trinkets that take their fancy." Among other things, a reader will learn the origins of the term, "pecking order," and why "cuckold" is associated with the cuckoo, whose name sounds about the same in most languages.

Birds, with pictures by Jeffrey Fisher and words by Christine Fisher was just published by Chronicle Books. The Fishers reside in Veneux les Sablons, France.

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