What is there to say about a book like this? This is a humor book, masquerading as a "birding dictionary" - meaning a dictionary of terms common to birders (ie obsessed bird watchers). Author Rosemary Mosco is clearly familiar with birders (perhaps she is one herself) and picks up on a lot of their language and abbreviations (I have some very avid birders in my family and can't escape a lot of their birding discussions).

For the most part, this is a delightful, humorous collection of terms - terms that can be taken in more than one way:

chat/ (...) 1. One of many songbirds belonging to various unrelated groups. (...) 2. A group text that people use to let each other know about a rare bird sighting (...)

raptor /( ... ) This term should not be confused with 1) a nickname for the dinosaur velociraptor , popularized by the (famous movie) franchise, or 2) a member of Toronto's NBA team. Unlike movie dinosaurs, most hawks cannot open doors, and their free throw percentages are nothing to write home about, either.

Sometimes the entries are just a little silly:

dust bathe/ (...) To roll around in dust, sand, or dirt. Many birds dust bathe (...) it seems to help them stay clean. (...) When a human dust bathes, she just gets dirt all over her clothes and people say things like "Ma'am, please stop, this is a Starbucks parking lot."
The book is a little on the skimpy side for a dictionary but then it's more a humor book than a dictionary. In fact, I think this is more of a bathroom reader for birders - something to keep them entertained on the throne after their cell phones have died searching for the latest 'twitchable' (hey, why isn't that in the book?).

This is the sort of book a non-birder gets their bird friend for Christmas, hoping they're willing to laugh at themselves as much as we laugh at them.

Looking for a good book? The Birding Dictionary by Rosemary Mosco is a humor book based on the lexicon of obsessive bird watchers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this is a fantastic read for bird lovers. It was very Informational and super helpful with so many bird questions and interesting facts I didn't even know myself! This book is full og interesting facts!

The Birding Dictionary is chock-full of whimsy, clever wit, and the most relatable and charming illustrations imaginable. Not only that but informational birdisms are distributed throughout, educating me further on a subject I am passionate about. Er, obsessed with. This type of humour is so darned cute! Every single one of the A-Z entries is enjoyable and I often found myself re-reading them and chuckling while nodding my head sagely.

About 99% of these words or phrases are my favourites (!). Some include adorbler, alpha code (where have I been?), beak (bird mouth vs human mouth (I can't stand it!), egg (makes me smile just typing it), field mark, irruption, LBJ illustration, license plate suggestions (stop it!), nictitating membrane (I didn't know what this was called), owling table, trash bird (I'm looking at you, house sparrow, grackle and starling), and zygodactyl illustration with its flowery font.

It would be an absolute shame to miss out on giggling your face off at this bird book for any level of birder. Plus you'll likely learn something to boot! All of my family members are crazy about birds and will surely enjoy this book as much as I did. I can see us all unobtrusively sitting in a blind with our bins, books askance on our knees, stifling laughter as birds roll their eyes with disgust. Loved, loved, loved this!

Rosemary Mosco's The Birding Dictionary brings to light the odd things that birders say. If you have ever been on a "stake out" for a ",mega", you might hear all kinds of terms as birders regale each other with stories to pass the time. Mosco has sourced terms from all over to help others learn what everyone is talking about. Her definitions are accurate, funny, and simple. At times I laughed out loud and others, I learned a new phrase.

The book is illustrated with some of Mosco's entertaining and beautiful artwork. This book is a great addition for birders and birding-curious to add to their collection. It's enjoyable, informational, and worth going back to again and again.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my unbiased opinion.

The book has many strong points. It is very informative, with the author using a highly conversational tone and a lot of humour. There were even some laugh-out-loud moments and some passages were so good I would keep re-reading them. The illustrations are excellent. Out of fairness, I should also point out the book’s weak points but there weren’t any. The book was great cover-to-cover. Thank you to Netgalley and Workman Publishing Company for the advance reader copy.

A treat for birders at all levels, from wanna be's to window watchers to life-listers alike. Useful info intertwined with cheeky humor that made me truly laugh out loud from the first few pages, to the chagrin of my dog. A humorous and delightful resource imdeed!