Kingdom of Daylight: Memories of a Birdwatcher

Title: Kingdom of Daylight
Subtitle: Memories of a Birdwatcher
Author: Peter Steyn
Publisher: Peter Steyn
Newlands, South Africa 2017
ISBN 9780620742566 / ISBN 978-0-62-074256-6
Softcover, 17 x 23 cm, 256 pages, throughout colour photographs

About: Kingdom of Daylight: Memories of a Birdwatcher

Kingdom of Daylight: Memories of a Birdwatcher is about a lifetime spent observing and photographing birds in Africa and internationally. The evocative text encapsulates a wide range of birdwatching experiences over a span of seventy years as the reader is taken along with the author on his fascinating quest for birds. The account is enhanced by a wide selection of his photographs. His story starts and ends in Cape Town, South Africa, but in between we read about the 17 years he spent in Zimbabwe, his most productive in terms of ornithological research, his worldwide travels in a quest to study birds and his regular spells as a lecturer on cruise-ship voyages, follwed by trips from the Arctic to the Antarctic, to remote Southern Ocean islands and to several Indian Ocean islands and St Helena. Finally we learn about travels to the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Ethiopia, all in pursuit of birds. Kingdom of Daylight: Memories of a Birdwatcher is well illustrated and features more than 400 photographs.

Peter Steyn's passion for birds began at an early age and his first bird photograph was taken when he was thirteen. Subsequently his pictures have appeared in numerous popular and scientific publications, as well as in his nine books. His published research, especially on birds of prey, has been widely acclaimed. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Gill Memorial Medal 'for an outstanding lifetime contribution to the knowledge of southern African birds' and in 2012 he received the Steven Piper Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to raptor conservation and research.

Content: Kingdom of Daylight: Memories of a Birdwatcher

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
In the Shadow of a Mountain
Interlude in England
A School in the Bush
Bulawayo Years
Timeless Amatobo
Hwange Days
Victoria Falls
The Middle Zambezi
Zimbabwe's Eastern Districts
Return to the Mountain and New Horizons
Birding in USA
Costa Rican Impressions
Galapagos and an Amazonian Adventure
Peru to Patagonia
Fairy Terns and Tropic Birds. Exploring Seychelles
Madagascar, Island of Marvels
Birding in Australia
Australia Revisited
A New Zealand Voyage
Ethiopian Episode
Last Voyages
Epilogue
Publications list