Birds of South Vietnam
It wasn't the subject of this book that made it weird, but instead when it was published: in 1968, at the height of the war in Vietnam. Not a time when a lot of people were going to Vietnam for bird-watching.
The British author, Philip Wildash, didn't even mention the war, except to obliquely refer to it in the first sentence by saying, "Vietnamese ornithology has long been rather neglected."
Amazon link: Birds of South Vietnam.
The British author, Philip Wildash, didn't even mention the war, except to obliquely refer to it in the first sentence by saying, "Vietnamese ornithology has long been rather neglected."
Amazon link: Birds of South Vietnam.
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Oct 6, 1968
Comments
The author had a point about the disappearance of the flora and fauna of the region. What did happen to them? Agent Orange wasn't just an herbicide without side effects.
Posted by KDP on 05/22/18 at 03:35 PM
Yes, I was in Vietnam recently and was astonished by the lack of birds and wildlife in general, coming from New Zealand where we have almost no indigenous wildlife at all aside from birds and reptiles it was quite a shock. A three hour boat ride through the jungle revealed nothing more than a single species of duck and a visit to a 'bird park' yielded up one type of heron and one hummingbird. At the time we put this down to local predation and poaching but failed to consider the effects of defoliants like agent orange, this has given me a new perspective on the situation.
Posted by Scarecrow on 05/23/18 at 04:54 PM
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Category: Animals | Hobbies and DIY | War | Books | 1960s