A Naturalist's Year

About this book

Where do birds sleep at night? What is a bufophobe? Which animal can raid a bird's nest without leaving a single trace behind? Why should we love the villainous looking corbeau?

"We human beings don't own the earth. We just share it," writes Richard ffrench. A Naturalist's Year provides a neat, accessible meditation for every week of the year, following the cycle of the seasons (but not too closely).

Richard ffrench won't cage a bird, or slaughter the bees that plague his classroom. His tireless curiosity and his affection for all living things is beautifully complimented by the black-and-white illustrations of his wife Margaret. This is a book where sorrow at loss and extinction is offset by wonder at the mystery of bird migration or the liquid beauty of early-morning birdsong.

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Biography

Born in England, Richard ffrench has been a naturalist all his life, and wrote the definitive reference book A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. He settled in Trinidad in 1958, earning his living as a teacher but devoting much of his time to exploring and documenting the natural world around him.

Committed to making natural history part of people's lives, he wrote a column for the Trinidad Guardian and, with a wonderfully delicate balance of entertainment and education, drew a loyal and appreciative readership. Many of these columns are collected here for the first time since their original publication. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1985.