Abstract
I like not the term "softbill" but in aviculture we have inherited an idiosyncratic terminology that is best used if we are to communicate. Elsewhere in this issue you'll find several noble stabs at the definition of softbill so I'll not attempt it here.
The following books all deal with softbill birds, some exclusively as The Bee-eaters by C. H. Fry and some in conjunction with birds that are not softbills such as the old Bates and Busenbark bible, Finches and Softbilled Birds.
Some of the books in this review are readily available at any book store while others are out of print and may be found through an antiquarian book dealer. I have learned from and enjoyed all of the books mentioned (they are from my own library) and, after all, isn't that what books are all about?
Finches and Soft-billed Birds by Henry]. Bates and Robert L. Busenbark, TFH Publications, Neptune City, N.J., 1970, hardbound, 735 pages, $24.00.
For reasons unknown, I have two copies of this old avicultural standby (perhaps one from Bates and the other from Busenbark). I find myself referring to this title often. For our purposes here Finches and Softbilled Birds is an excellent starting place in your effort to learn what is and what isn't a soft-billed bird.
Section III is titled "Softbills:' It begins with chapter 20 - Pekin Nightingales, Related Species, and Jay Thrushes. This section continues through chapter 46 and includes Cocks-of-the Rock, Cotingas, Umbrella Birds, Bell Birds (chapter 44), Crows, Ravens, Picathartes, and Jays (chapter 34), Drongoes, Minivets, and Bee-eaters (chapter 25) just to cite a few examples.
This is an excellent encyclopedia of softbill birds but keep in mind it is about 20 years old. A few things have changed in aviculture recently. The same holds true for Bates and Busenbark's chapter on diet. It has a very good section on the diet for softbilled birds and it will lay an excellent foundation but modern avicultural science has, in some cases, enhanced our knowledge. Study Bates and Busenbark but don't neglect the more recent literature.
There are many good color photos in this volume that are good for identification purposes.
Foreign Bird Keeping by Edward]. Boosey, Iliffe Books Ltd., London, 1956, cloth, 384 pages.
As Boosey's book is about 35 years old, its price will vary according to where you find it. The cost will naturally be more at the antiquarian book shop than at the garage sale but it is something of a collector's item so snap it up if you find it. There is a 2nd edition dated 1962 that contains more on softbills than the first.
For me, the attraction of this book is the very charming dialogue used by Boosey. It is reminiscent of the way the Duke of Bedford wrote about his birds. Indeed, Bedford and Boosey were great friends so maybe that accounts for the stylistic similarity.
For each of the 50 or so softbill species Boosey lists, he writes an informative, intimate and often humorous account from a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages. Of the Black-crested Yellow Bulbul Boosey says, '' If this Bulbul were · as its name implies - a yellow bird with a black crest, it would be very striking indeed, but actually its body colour is a dull yellowish olive-green, which is not an attractive combination with the black of the crest:' Now that's an honest fellow. I wonder who misnamed this dullard of the Bulbul family.
The Fairy Bluebird, on the other hand, gets three full paragraphs of praise and description of its color. In addition to color, Boosey usually mentions several facts pertinent to the species at hand. He touches on the bird's hardiness, size of suitable aviary, type of specialty food the bird likes, nestbox preference and compatability with other birds in a mixed aviary.
There are a number of black and white photos and too few color photos that illustrate the birds covered. Don't buy the volume for the artwork. It is, rather, most interesting from a historical standpoint. It opens the door to the wealthy, privileged English aviculturists who devoted their lives to the development of outstanding avian gardens and farms. These connoisseurs were (and are) on intimate terms with their birds and disseminate much valuable lore in their charming writings.
Read Boosey. He and Bedford can't be beat in this genre.