MEET THE AUTHOR
Birdwatcher, poet and author Vernon R.L. Head, known for his book The Search for the Rarest Bird in the World, has edited and compiled a new book called Featherings. It’s a collection of essays about birds and birdwatching, written by ornithologists, artists, novelists, journalists, talk-show hosts, advertising executives and professional nature guides – and Vernon himself. He tells us more.
Where did your love of birds begin? On my grandfather’s flower farm about 40 years ago, where Northcliff is today, in the distant shadow of Johannesburg, when wild things still lived unencumbered there. It was dawn, my grandfather pointed to the sound of the so-called“rainbird”in the mist, near a vlei. The bird hopped onto a bush, fluffed its feathers, its red eyes shining. I was hooked. I…
