Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching by Rosemary Mosco

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird
by Rosemary Mosco

My Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Non-fiction/ Pigeons/ Animals

Blurb:
Pigeons coo, peck and nest all over the world, yet most of us treat them with indifference or disdain. So Rosemary Mosco, a bird-lover, science communicator, writer, and cartoonist (and co-author of The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid) is here to give the pigeon’s image a makeover, and to help every town- and city-dweller get closer to nature by discovering the joys of birding through pigeon-watching.

Fact: Pigeons are amazing, and until recently, humans adored them. We’ve kept them as pets, held pigeon beauty contests, raced them, used them to carry messages over battlefields, harvested their poop to fertilize our crops—and cooked them in gourmet dishes. Now, with The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, readers can rediscover the wonder. Equal parts illustrated field guide and quirky history, it covers behavior: Why they coo; how they flock; how they preen, kiss, and mate (monogamously); and how they raise their young (on chunky pigeon milk). Anatomy and identification, from Birmingham Roller to the American Giant Runt to the Scandaroon. Birder issues, like what to do if you find a baby pigeon stranded in the park. And our lively shared story together, including all the things we’ve taught them—Ping-Pong, for example.

“Rats with wings?” Think again.

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

One day while I was browsing through the recently added titles on Netgalley this book caught my eye. Usually I limit my non-fiction book reading to book marketing related books, but something about the cover and blurb caught my attention and I hit request before I could think twice. Luckily I got accepted and I was really excited to start reading this one. I knew hardly anything about pigeons before I started this book and after reading this one I really know a lot more and had a fun time learning more.

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching is a great read. It’s written in an easy to follow and pleasant to read style. The book is also filled with illustrations of pigeons and at times other birds. I liked the illustrations and it added to the book. I really like how the book is easy to follow even for those who know nothing of pigeons and this book really enhanced my knowledge of pigeons.

Most of all this was such a fun read. I loved reading it and sharing the new tidbits I learned about pigeons with those around me. It was fascinating to learn about a topic I knew so little about and the more I read the more I grew to understand why the author likes these birds so much. The bits about the history as well as the interesting habits were probably my favorite parts. There are also parts about different types of pigeons, anatomy and more. There were so many interesting parts and I really enjoyed adding to my knowledge.

To summarize: This was such a great read! I had a lot of fun reading this one and learning more about pigeons. This book is easy to follow even if you know almost nothing about pigeons like I did. The writing style is pleasant and the artwork is great. I enjoyed learning more about pigeons and there is a lot of great information. This book really grew my knowledge of pigeons and interest in these birds. I would recommend this to everyone who would like to learn a bit more about pigeons!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.