The Mating Lives of Birds by James Parry – Reviewed

Birds are absolutely fascinating creatures, their ability to fly aside, their lives are not humdrum nine to five like ours, every moment can be a risk finding food is a matter of survival and just staying alert would be enough to keep most people on the edge of their nerves but when it comes to the mating habits of birds from courtship to nest building the avian world is unrivalled in it’s complexities and glory. So when I was offer the chance to review the book Mating Lives of Birds by James Parry I was only too happy to oblige.

When the book arrived I was quite pleased to open the package and see the glossy hard cover (depicting a displaying egret) and it certainly whet my appetite, opening the front cover and having a first scan I knew I would not be disappointed, each page was stuffed with details about the birds lives and wonderful colour images that would grace any wall.

The most striking thing about this book is the sheer amount of absolutely amazing bird photos that it contains! Showing birds in all manner of mating, nesting, courtship or display poses the range is quite staggering, and they are all top class wild bird photos, these alone justify the purchase of this book in my opinion (but then I would think that being a wildlife photographer at heart).

I can here you asking now, “what is the book actually like though what does it cover?” well without going through every chapter page by page I’ll give you a brief synopsis, James Parry takes us on a journey through the whole process of mating from finding and displaying to a potential mate to nest building, the eggs and young and so much more.

Each chapter gives some great in-depth accounts of each stage, with details like territory claiming colonial nesting etc. covered in as much detail as you could imagine. There really is too much to mention all the interesting snippets you will likely come across.

For me this book is worth buying purely for the photographs (pick one up and take a look if you don’t believe me you’ll soon change your mind), but it is also a wealth of information about different mating habits that you will find amongst our avian friends. I’d highly recommend at the very least taking a look, but I would imagine you’d buy it if you did that anyway!