Beating About the Bush: The Idiot's Guide to Birdwatching

Rating:
Summary: Great -- if you live in South Africa!
Review: This is a clever witty introduction to birding, with some good advice on binoculars, telescopes, etc. The main drawback for most people will be that it focuses exclusively on Southern Africa. Newman has written the definitive field guide to South African birds, and Beating About the Bush is keyed to that guide. More than half the book is devoted to particular identification problems in South African birds, and a large part of the first section deescribes what kinds of birds to look for in various South African habitats. While there are tips which can be useful to any birder -- beginner or otherwise -- and while the cartoons by "Dr. Jack" are delightful, birders who plan on doing their looking outside South Africa might be well advised to get a different introduction to birding.