I am not sure that there is a convention when it comes to reviewing books, but it is probably customary to expound on the contents before declaring a verdict. Permit me to reverse the order here and to state immediately that I am entranced with this work. It is scholarly, extremely well written, and introduces me to an author hitherto unknown - to me at least. The title is apt - there was magic between the pages for this reader.      Darwin has been the bedrock of my belief system for almost as long as I have cogent memory of such things. Of Emily Di ..read more

25 February, 2024 Cayo Coco (Cueva El Jabalí, Laguna Flamencos) - Playa Las Coloradas      Breakfast at the buffet was enjoyed by all, following which we went to the location popularly known as "The Cave." It is in fact an underground disco, populated by bats during the day when the party-goers are not there, with a reversal at night when the bats are out hunting.      We always start our visit aboveground with a check of a bird bath and a couple of feeders, where there is much to be seen.      One of the highlights is a subspecies of the endemic Z ..read more

       It seems that people have always had a fascination with frogs. After all a maiden had only to kiss one to have her very own prince, and the enduring favourite on the children's television show, Sesame Street, has been Kermit the Frog.      Lamentably, this engagement has not benefitted frogs (or other amphibians for that matter) in any way at all. From page 53: "Amphibians are the most threatened terrestrial vertebrate group on the planet, with tens of species going extinct each year."      If this does not fill you with sadn ..read more

       It was hard not to chuckle at this playful title of a book by one of the world's most pre-eminent bee biologists.       The book begins with Seeley reminiscing about being "not quite eleven years old"  and already observing a bee colony in a black walnut tree and asking himself questions about what was happening. As one goes through the book and vicariously takes part in Seeley's discoveries, one gets the firm impression that this eleven-year old boy is alive and well - and still living in Ithaca - curiosity undiminished.      ..read more

24 February, 2024 Trinidad - Carretera Trinidad - Río Higuanojo - Río Higuanojo - Pedraplén Cayo Coco - Entrada de Cayo Coco      Everyone looked well rested and refreshed as they straggled from their rooms for breakfast, taken very agreeably in the courtyard; a fine start to the day.           Before long, it was time to go, and we loaded up the cart to deliver our luggage to the bus.            Kathy looked all set to face whatever challenges the day might bring!      Rocío and her char ..read more

 27 March, 2024 Leader: David M. Gascoigne Members: Joan Astley, Miriam Bauman, Beverly Church, Lynn Conway, Pauline Copleston, Lisa Den Besten, Mike Duchene, Karen Earle, Lynne Elliot, Lorne Harding, Beth Hobson, Marion Kelterborn, Curtiss MacDonald, David Matthews, Nancy Matthews, Elisabeth Parsons, Penny Douglas, Crystal Rose, Mary Ann Vanden Elzen, Kathy Waybrant, Sophie Wilson Guests: Pi Bhor, Sandra Ford, Steve Gyorffy, Marilyn Newman, Angela Pellegrino, Vince Pellegrino, Barbara Ringham       As you may see, it was a large, enthusiastic group - a ..read more

       There is perhaps no more enduring pastime than collecting shells; an activity that transcends age, gender, social status, race, colour, creed and any other division you might wish to attribute to humans. Furthermore, it is timeless, enduring as a diversion from one generation to the next. As I compose this review I gaze upon shells of my own, collected in different corners of the world.       I cherish them for their inherent beauty, but it is important to me to know what they represent, what organism lived its life in this exquisite object befo ..read more

      Having enjoyed The Lives of Beetles (Princeton University Press) so much, and having consulted it a thousand times, I was delighted to see Arthur V. Evans as the author of this work in the "Little Book" series.        Scholarship would not be sacrificed, of that I was sure.      As has been true of the other books in this series, I continue to marvel at the amount of knowledge that can be compressed into so small a volume. Furthermore, I am no less enchanted by the discriminating artwork produced by Tucge Okay. Never having kn ..read more

    "Mary Anning is probably the most important unsung (or inadequately sung) collecting force in the history of paleontology." Stephen J. Gould       I have long been a huge admirer of Mary Anning.      For those unfamiliar with this remarkable 19th century collector let me give you but a brief synopsis of her life and work.       Mary was a member of that miserably poor sector of the society of her day, born into wretched poverty, with little chance of escape from her lot in life. Class stratification was strict and inviolable, and ..read more

      Another resounding success in the "Little Book" series.       I suspect that many readers of my blog are familiar with the magnificent work, The World Atlas of Trees and Forests by Herman Shugart, Peter White, Sassan Saatchi and Jérôme Chave (Princeton University Press), so you will no doubt be pleased to see the names of two of these eminent biologists as authors of this little book. It furnishes an impressive validation of the superlative qualities of the books; small in size yet rich in detail, knowledge compressed but excellence never sa ..read more