THE SEARCH FOR THE RAREST BIRD IN THE WORLD

242pp., paperback, Jacana, Reprint, Johannesburg, (2014) 2024

ISBN: 9781431435463

In 1990 a group of University of Cambridge scientists found the wing of an unidentified bird in Ethiopia, and a new species of bird was named: Nechisar Nightjar. Twenty-two years later South African ornithologist and birder Ian Sinclair led an expedition to try and find this elusive bird. This is Vernon Head's account of the adventure.

"It's Rider Haggard with birds! Hidden secrets in remote exotic lands, hearsay and scraps of treasure but no map! And four privateers in search of the ornithological grail. It's boys-own stuff for girls too - fabulous!" Chris Packham, British naturalist and author

"This is not your typical birding book, just as Vernon Head is not your typical birder. The prose is rich and textured; something to savour. It describes the schizophrenic beauty and despair of Ethiopia, and its amazing wealth of biodiversity. It explores the boyish drive that motivates birders to travel to the ends of the Earth in the pursuit of birds, and the bonds that develop through their shared endeavour. It captures the spirit of adventure that comes from chasing impossible birds while challenging birders to rethink why they do what they do. But above all it highlights the need to conserve nature - not just for its own sake, but for the fundamental, defining role it plays in shaping our lives." Professor Peter Ryan, Director of the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, UCT

Architect and environmentalist Vernon Head was born in 1967 in Cape Town. He is also the author of the non-fiction title Featherlings, true stories in search of birds, the novels A Tree for the birds and On That Wave of Gulls, (winner of the 2024 Cultural and Creative Industry Award), and the poetry collection The Laughing Dove and other poems.