Customer Reviews

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story . . .with Wings

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like another reviewer, I found myself thinking the author should have grown up and gotten a life. The idea of his waiting for something magical to just "happen" while he bums around was irritating. But, having said that, the rest of the book was a delight. Fortunately, most of the book is devoted to the parrots.

I laughed, I cried. Literally. The writing is easy and engaging and while I wished the photos were in color I was just pleased to see them. The photo of Tupelo is amazing and heartbreaking. The descriptions of each bird's personality and their interactions with each other and the author were insightful, sometimes amusing and always interesting.

One of the best books I've read in a while. If you have even the remotest interest in parrots, read this book. I very, very rarely buy hardcovers but this was an exception and well worth the price. Unlike most other books, this one is NOT going to the used book store!

I'm only halfway through this book right now, but I can't wait to finish it. It's funny and charming. I only started to read it because someone simply recommended it, I had no idea what to expect, but it really is amusing.

"Elsewhere in the land of Parrots" by Jim Paul, which takes place on telegraph hill also. And is also about the wild parrots of San Fran. And is also an excellent read and a very charming book. I'd be interested to know whose came first.

Have not read this yet, so I can't REALLY rate it, this form insists you put a rating. I will be reading it soon though because it sounds like something I will enjoy.

This is a must read for people who love parrots and freedom and love to study the connundrum of jobs/captive life. The author was ultimately "freed" by enslavement by the flock/project. Anybody can find natural and spiritual lessons in this wonderful book. Wild life isn't a picnic, and the quest for "freedom" can imprison the mind.

Even those who live with companion parrots often fail to establish the rapport Mark Bittner achieved with a group of wild parrots.

As a kid growing up in Southern California my dad pointed out a local flock of wild parrots to me. I did not believe him at first but their squawking was so distinctive there was no denying they were indeed parrots. I have been curious about them ever since. On a recent visit to San Francisco I was in the area of Telegraph Hill and I heard that familiar squawking and knew at once what it was. I was standing at the top of the hill, where Coit Tower is, when they swooped by. Amazing! I am so glad someone wrote this book.

I disagree with the reviewer who calls Mark Bittner a "loser in the lottery of life" and someone who substitutes relationships with animals for relationships with people. Bittner labels himself a "recluse" and a "hermit." His distance from people is, I believe, distinct from his connection with the parrots.

What Bittner shares with us is the quest for his humanity. He confronts stubborn rebellion (his refusal to "just get a job"), the ugly realities of the way society works (homelessness, aging of his benefactor) and disingenous romanticism about our connections with nature (which leads to both the parrots' predicament and Bittner's desire early in the story to escape to "the country.")

I have always wished I were one of those people who are born with a gift for communicating with wild animals. I am inspired by the idea that such a gift can be cultivated not bestowed.

For one or two weeks every two months I live in an apartment at the base of Telegraph Hill, a place of true magic. I could not believe my ears the first time I heard the parrots, or my eyes, the first time I saw them! I soon found Mark Bittner's web site, complete with wonderful photos of the parrots and the story of his connection with them. What a pleasure, then, to find in my local Massachusetts book store, a copy of this wonderful book. Mr. Bittner takes us with him as his relationship with the parrots becomes inextricably woven into his life search for meaning. His study of the parrot's lives, first undertaken by chance, becomes a life's work of real interest to anyone who has an affection for animal life in general, or these amazing birds in particular.

This about the author Mark Bittner who at 21 decides to be a rock and roll star while living in seattle but as this does not seem to pan out he feels that a change is do so he moves to San Francisco and play as a street musician for a while but as this seems to go nowhere he decides to be a writer.

While he is trying to be a writer he also wanting to pursue and understanding of eastern religion things relating to confucius taoism and zen and kind of following life as it went with no real aim no job no permanent living conditions to the point of living on the streets and in a friends van.By the time he decides he needs a little more direction he is 38 and working as a caretaker ansd errand runner in return for room and board in Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco and this is were is relationship with the parrots takes off(Scientifically they cherry headed conure and blue headed conures).

This book goes into great detail of these types of parrots and the parrot trade but i will be honest i try to read every book complete but i could not finish this book,it always felt like i was plodding through it and i know the old adage that you should not judge someone put i felt that the author should get a life there were many things and he should have been taking care of that he was continually putting off.

I personally thought this was not a very good book

I was attracted to this book because of my long-standing curiosity about the feral parakeets of San Francisco, where I grew up and still live. And it is definitely worth reading on that score -- Mark Bittner has more information to impart on those birds than any other source I've ever found. But the book is fascinating, too, because it is the truthful autobiography of someone who is, frankly, a loser in the lottery of life. Not a big loser -- he manages, barely, to escape from homelessness, and he (pathetically) substitutes relationships with feral parrots for normal human relationships. But he is so clueless in many obvious ways. Too poor to pay for practically anything, but he buys parrot books at the local bookstore, and is amazed at his discovery of the local library, where, gasp, he can read books for FREE. And it is intriguing to read his accounts of his petty descents into the rivalries of these animals, and his adoption of their aims and hostilities, in the absence of a normal human existence. By all means, get this book if you have ever wondered about the weirdo around the corner who can only interact with dogs, cats, birds, or whatever. And get it if you're curious about feral exotic birds -- he documents their lives like nothing I've ever read of before.

Mark Bittner's book is a honest personal evolution that does the author and his avian subjects proud. The respect and admiration Mark has for the mixed conure flock he became involved with translates wonderfully to the printed page, as well as to Judy Irving's documentary by the same title.

This book should be in every bird lover's library and anyone who's ever come to value a relationship with an intelligent being outside of Homo sapiens. Sometimes they have the most to teach us about ourselves. I am reminded of primate and cetacean researchers who get to know the social dynamics of primates and cetaceans in the wild; but this is more than a study of birds, it is a chronicle of parrot characters through health and sickness, the joy and dangers of an uncaged life.

I have read several reviews mentioning the photos in the book are in black and white. Personally I was glad to have those photos of the parrots on every chapter page, and especially one of Tupelo, who there was not footage of in the documentary though her story was related and was very moving. I think the cover, which is in color, is wonderful and very eye-catching.

I also love how Mark's own personality even comes across in the names he chose for the birds....often named after authors, philosophers, and artists he admires. And a couple from Van Morrison songs.

I am loaning this book to everyone I know who would read it!