Book Review: Birds of India

Birds of India: A Literary Anthology edited by Abdul Jamil Urfi

Rating: 5/5

Birds of India: A Literary Anthology contains a beautiful assortment of over 70 writings on birds that are both entertaining and informative, a truly pleasurable read for both birdwatchers and non-birdwatchers alike. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to actually enjoy writings on birds and at the same time learn immensely about them without having to bang their head in books cramped with scientific details on birds that are ever so cryptic to casual birdwatchers like me. The pieces that I highly enjoyed reading are Sparrows of Ahmed Nagar Fort by Abul Kalam Azad, The Common Birds of Bombay, and Bird Nesting by EHA, Stopping by the Woods on a Sunday Morning by Salim Ali, and Misty Binoculars and Other Strategies for Survival among Birdwatchers by Zai Whitaker (which is ironical to birdwatchers but enjoyable nevertheless). However, each article has its own charm and is incomparable in terms of its beauty and priceless information. It’s a book that can be easily enjoyed in one read, and yet, to comprehend its true essence it must be read more than once.