- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (May 12 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1594860904
- ISBN-13: 978-1594860904
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 14 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #971,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The little-understood marbled murrelet has been plying the Pacific Coast waters from California to Alaska since well before Captain Cook mapped those shores for England. But now these small brown birds, listed as threatened in 1992, are disappearing rapidly as their habitat is compromised by environmental degradation from oil spills, the trap set inadvertently by fisheries deploying gill-nets near shore, and old-growth deforestation. Natural history writer Ruth picked up a passion for these unique critters and their mystery—the birds' unusual nests on mossy branches went undetected until 1974, when a tree trimmer almost stepped on a chick 148 feet up in a Douglas fir. Ruth depicts the efforts, scientific and amateur, to understand the marbled murrelet since Cook's onboard naturalist first captured several in 1778. This compelling subject gets thorough treatment by Ruth, but her tale suffers from a fragmented time line and too many references to her obsession without profound evocation of the feelings and thoughts such fascination has elicited from numerous writers, including two she cites, Annie Dillard and Aldo Leopold. Still, Ruth's details of the hunt for bits of information about the bird—from dissecting specimens to counting birdcalls in the predawn light—provide rare insight into the trials and joys of scientific discovery. B&w illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
What is a marbled murrelet? This tiny, mysterious seabird flies like a little brown bullet, living most of its life at sea. But, as author Ruth, a generalist nature writer who declares herself "not a birder" discovered, this chunky little seabird can steal your heart. From 1789 to 1974, no one knew where the bird nested. All the other members of the Alcid family (the puffins, murres, and auks), to which the marbled murrelet belongs, nest on cliffs and rocks near the sea. The murrelet did not fit this pattern. How the mystery was solved and the implications of this discovery in the ongoing battle between environmentalists and loggers in the Pacific Northwest are conveyed in Ruth's infectious tale. She takes the reader along as she talks to all the players in the high-stakes game of preservation versus exploitation, and she delves into the history of the scientists who studied the bird and searched for its nest. The story of the discovery of the nest is alone worth the price of the book. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Bird, Great Book!, Jun 8 2005
By Maine Mary "Mary" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet (Hardcover)
I have had the pleasure of reading Maria Mudd Ruth's most recent book,Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet. This book is the result of years of research by the author, which included culling facts from many scientific papers and journals,interviewing numerous biologists and ornithologists,visiting museums,attending seabird conferences and participating in data collection herself. The result is a lively,intelligent,thoughtful,funny and easily readable tale of a most unusual bird,and the folks who have found it fascinating. The author's enthusiasm for this bird is evident in her personal narration. This is no dry scientific paper. We, as readers, are amazed by the number of people who over so many years have dedicated their lives to studying this elusive creature,and the lengths they go to to observe and record it's behavior. We are also moved as we consider how difficult is the mission of maintaining the delicate balance of nature and industry in our increasingly complex world. Ruth has given us a gift in this detailed account of a funny ,fat, little bird and the stir it has caused, while trying to avoid attention altogether. It's a must read for those concered with protecting threatened and endangered species, and for those of us who enjoy a story well told.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Coaxing a non-birder into the old growth forest, Jun 11 2005
By Ann M. Morrill - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet (Hardcover)
What is remarkable about Rare Bird is how accessible and interesting it is for a non-scientist and non-birder. Maria Ruth Mudd's ability to draw the reader close to this fascinating, endangered and shy sea bird that nests in old growth forests comes in part from her own outsider perspective-she calls herself an "accidental naturalist"-as well as her lively explanations detailing how scientists began to learn about and understand this odd creature.From rich and poetic descriptions of old growth forests where this bird nests, to humorous and arduous accounts of tagging along with ornithologists, field biologists, and other tireless birders attempting to study the marbled murrelet, Ruth Mudd brings the reader into a world seldom even contemplated by most. She also demonstrates-- through historical record, numerous anecdotes detailing her own growing curiosity, and descriptions of the fascinating fieldwork--just how difficult studying this bird is, as well as how crucial the marbled murrelet researchers are to this bird's survival. As much as this book is a natural history, it is a song of appreciation to the researchers who have dedicated their lives to understanding and fighting for endangered species in general, and this bird in particular.
By the end of the book, I cared about this strange-looking auk, I wanted to hug the researchers that work to document the impact of polluted waters and clear-cutting on this bird's survival, and I better understood the plight of one endangered bird in a world hungry for old growth trees and land.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Page Turner!, July 14 2005
By Erin Reiss - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful book! An interesting read for both the avid bird watcher or the casual observer. I loved this book!
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