The Search for the Pink-headed Duck by Rory Nugent. First published 1991. As reviewed and pictured: softcover, 223 pages.
The Search for the Pink-headed Duck is Rory Nugent's memoir of his travels in eastern India and his search for a duck believed to be extinct and which was last seen in the 1950's.
Nugent hopes to search for the Pink-headed Duck in certain parts of India where it happens to be difficult to obtain a tourist visa. This leads to him spending a great deal of time in and out of bureaucratic offices in Delhi, with a lot of downtime between official visits. Eventually he does get moving, first to places like the poultry markets of Calcutta, and then to hiding in the back of a jeep to travel outside the boundary of his visa, to the outskirts of Sikkim and Darjeeling and Assam, and finally down the Brahmaputra in a hand-made skiff with an Indian friend met only weeks earlier.
Nugent spends a lot of time with interesting characters, including a "gentleman outlaw" smuggler, Gurkha freedom fighters, Tibetan lamas, and a Tantrika (one who follows the Trantric Way). Between the outlandish Indian characters, Nugent befriends many more locals in all of his travels, certainly adding a richness to his own experience and to the book.
The book is a great travel adventure yarn, which is a genre I love. However, the search for the rare, possibly extinct Pink-headed Duck feels like an afterthought sometimes, and I did wish for more background on the bird itself, and possibly more time (or pages) devoted to the search for the duck and other birds (Nugent claims to be a birdwatcher, after all). I give The Search for the Pink-headed Duck 3.5 Goldfinches out of 5.
Thanks to Robert of Birding is Fun for letting me know about this book by reviewing it on his blog.
Birds of India by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp. Published March 7, 2012. As reviewed and pictured: softcover, 528 pages. In early 2006, Arthur and I visited Rajasthan in India for a much-too-short 20 days. We were interested in visiting both cultural sights and natural wonders,...
My birding library grew by leaps and bounds in 2011, with a high number of books acquired and a very short list of books traded out. In 2011 I only managed to review 11 books (out of a goal of 20) and got rid of less than that....
The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation by Daniel J. Lebbin, Michael J. Parr, and George H. Fenwick. First published 2010. Hardcover, 456 pages. As a reader of this blog, chances are that you do something to help birds. There are a lot of ways to help, and...
Parrots of the World by Joseph M. Forshaw, illustrated by Frank Knight. Published 2010. Softcover, 328 pages. Wildly colorful, intelligent, popular, beautiful. These words are often used to describe birds belonging to the parrot family: Psittaciformes. This lovely book illustrates and describes all 356 species. Parrots of the World presents...
