Sometimes mushily new age but mostly leisurely and yet acute reading of the raw material that Darwin produced as he voyaged on the Beagle. The tendency to speak of Darwin as if he was some sort of 19th century Druid can get a bit wearing, but on the whole Haupt's long acquaintance with these materials reaps rich rewards. ( )

A musing journey through Darwin's ornithological researches, drawing primarily on his field observations and later writings. Haupt's major point - and it's a good one - is that, like Darwin, we can learn even from the forms of life that may seem most insignificant. ( )