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Title details for The Birds of Pandemonium by Michele Raffin - Available

The Birds of Pandemonium

by Michele Raffin
Tamara Marston
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
"Michele Raffin has made an important contribution to saving endangered birds, and her book is a fascinating and rarely seen glimpse behind the scenes. The joy she gets from her close relationships with these amazing animals and her outsized commitment to them comes through loud and clear in this engaging and joyful book." -Dominick Dorsa, Curator of Birds, San Francisco ZooEach morning at first light, Michele Raffin awakens to the bewitching music that heralds another day at Pandemonium Aviaries-a symphony that swells from the most vocal of over 350 avian throats representing over 40 species. "It knocks me out, every day," she admits. Pandemonium Aviaries is a conservation organization dedicated to saving and breeding birds at the edge of extinction, including some of the largest populations of rare species in the world. And their behavior is even more fascinating than their glorious plumage or their songs. They fall in love, they mourn, they rejoice, they sacrifice, they have a sense of humor, they feel jealous, they invent, plot, cope, and sometimes they murder each other. As Raffin says, "They teach us volumes about the interrelationships of humans and animals."Their stories make up the heart of this book. There's Sweetie, a tiny quail with an outsize personality; the inspiring Oscar, a Lady Gouldian finch who can't fly but finds a way to reach the highest perches of his aviary to roost. The ecstatic reunion of a disabled Victoria crowned pigeon, Wing, and her brother, Coffee, is as wondrous as the silent kinship that develops between Amadeus, a one-legged turaco, and an autistic young visitor. Ultimately, The Birds of Pandemonium is about one woman's crusade to save precious lives, bird by bird, and offers insights into how following a passion can transform not only oneself but also the world."Delightful . . . full of wonderful accounts of bird behavior, demonstrating caring, learning, sociability, adaptability, and a will to live. Its appeal is ageless, her descriptions riveting, and her devotion to the birds remarkable." -Joanna Burger, author of The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship"A remarkable book. Reading about the birds of Pandemonium will make you laugh and cry; it will make you see more clearly the need to take care of our planet; and it will confirm that one person with a passion can make a difference." -Jeff Corwin, nature conservationist and host, Animal Planet"The Birds of Pandemonium touched me deeply . . . This book is about reconnecting with the nature of birds, and the nature of ourselves." -Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 7, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781622315109
      • File size: 176216 KB
      • Duration: 06:07:06

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Tamara Marston presents anecdotes of the exotic feathered friends collected and bred by author Michele Raffin at her bird sanctuary, Pandemonium. Marston's narration is clear and even as she describes the different birds under Raffin's care, as well as Raffin's family and how they came to work in the field of bird rescue and breeding. Marston herself provides brief vocal imitations of some of the birds. The audio production is also peppered with background sounds of bird song and chatty talking birds, allowing for aural glimpses of the colorful craziness one can imagine at Pandemonium. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 4, 2014
      Raffin, Avicultural Bulletin columnist and founder of the Pandemonium Aviaries bird sanctuary, describes the trajectory of her accidental career as a breeder of endangered species in this anecdotal, entertaining memoir. In 1996 a random encounter and subsequent rescue of a wounded dove on the Lawrence Highway led Raffin to Louis Brown, a local bird breeder, who took Raffin and her newfound avian interest under his wing. At the time, the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 had given rise to a surfeit of homeless doves and pigeons throughout the U.S. (in the words of the author, “From the late 1990s until around 2010, it was raining birds,”)—many of which Raffin went on to adopt. She recounts her experiences over the years providing shelter to a of variety birds, including a red-headed, potty-mouthed Amazon parrot called Amigo, a quail named Sweetie, and Harli and Peeki, a pair of gay lorikeets. Raffin’s passionate advocacy for birds is reminiscent of Jane Goodall’s support for great apes. The author emerges as a knowledgeable and, above all, endearing champion of animals, who practices what she preaches.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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