In this week's T-Shirt Tuesday I'd like to present a new design from our sister shop, Birdorable.

The California Quail is the state bird of California. Males are beautifully colored and have a cute curved head plume. Really, these guys are pretty cute already. Just check out some California Quail photos and you'll see what I mean.

Birdorable also has a State Birdorable of California design that shows the cute bird along with the flag of California.

In this week's T-Shirt Tuesday I'd like to highlight one of our simpler, text t-shirts for birdwatchers.

This original birding design which reads Life Is Short Bird Hard makes a great gift for birdwatchers. Take advantage of the time you have and spend as much of it as possible birding! Life is short - bird hard! Life Is Short Bird Hard is in a weathered font for a vintage look.

In this week's T-Shirt Tuesday I'd like to present our popular spoof of the old USPS slogan. The words Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds are engraved on the USPS building in New York City. A shortened version of this is often used to describe the dedication of postal workers.

We've used a modified version of this slogan for a funny t-shirt for birders. Birding is a hobby to be enjoyed in all weather and all times of day or night. Just as there is always mail to be delivered by dedicated postal workers, there are always new birds to twitch. Through rain or sleet or dark of night, I BIRD! It's the perfect funny birding t-shirt for dedicated birdwatchers!

This is the first of a planned weekly series: T-Shirt Tuesday, where I'll highlight some of the original t-shirt designs from the Magnificent Frigatebird shop for birders.

This twist on a popular iPod ad series features the silhouette of a little songbird with a white leg ring, along with the text iBand. This fun design makes a great gift for any bird ringer or bird bander.

A Rant of Ravens by Christine Goff. First published 2000. As reviewed and pictured: softcover, 207 pages.

The last time I tried reading a birder-themed mystery novel, I was sorely disappointed. With that in mind, I honestly didn't expect too much out of Christine Goff's A Rant of Ravens, the first in a series of Birdwatcher's Mystery novels. So I was more than pleasantly surprised to find this debut novel well-written, fast-paced, entertaining, and engaging.

A Rant of Ravens follows heroine Rachel Stanhope, a big-city woman going through a personal and professional crisis, as she takes a break from her life and travels to see her eccentric aunt in the mountains of Colorado. At her aunt's ranch, dubbed Bird Haven, Rachel encounters various people whose characters are briefly but effectively introduced to the reader. A murder mystery develops after one of Rachel's more recent acquaintances is found dead.

This is a quick-read murder-mystery with a satisfying amount of character development told at an exciting pace.

I give A Rant of Ravens 3 Goldfinches out of 5.