Reviews of A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson

Book Summary

A beguiling novel that does for contemporary Kenya and its 1,000 species of birds what Alexander McCall Smith’s Ladies Detective series does for Botswana

For the past three years, the widower Mr. Malik has been secretly in love with Rose Mbikwa, a woman who leads the weekly bird walks sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society. Reserved and honorable, Malik wouldn't be noticed by a bystander in a Nairobi street—except perhaps to comment on his carefully sculpted combover. But beneath that unprepossessing exterior lies a warm heart and a secret passion.

But just as Malik is getting up the nerve to invite Rose to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball (the premier social occasion of the Kenyan calendar), who should pop up but his nemesis from his school days. The jokester Harry Khan, good-looking in a flashy way and quick of foot, has also become enraptured with the object of Malik’s affection. So begins the competition cooked up by fellow members of the Asadi club: whoever can identify the most species of birds in one week’s time gets the privilege of asking Ms. Mbikwa to the ball. Set against the lush Kenyan landscape rich with wildlife and political intrigue, this irresistible novel has been sold in eight countries and is winning fans worldwide.

A Field Guide to the Characters

Mr Malik

• Identification. Small, dumpy, brown-skinned, nondescript. SBJ.*
• Habitat. Inner suburban Nairobi, especially Garden Lane, though occasionally may be spotted further afield in Kenya. Often seen after dark at the Asadi Club.
• Status. Introduced, resident.
• Distinguishing characteristics. Close inspection may reveal that hairstyle owes more to artifice than nature.

Harry Khan

• Identification. Brown skin, white hair, white teeth, and a tendency to dress in white clothes.
• Habitat. Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, and similar establishments worldwide. Cosmopolitan.
• Status. Occasional vagrant from North America, though close relatives are introduced resident.
• Distinguishing characteristics. Highly ornamented. Noted for flamboyant mating display.

Benjamin

• Identification. Small, very dark, with tuneful whistle.
• Habitat. Almost entirely restricted to suburban gardens, especially at Number 12 Garden Lane. Also anywhere that sells Coca-Cola.
• Status. Native, though local migrant in Nairobi.
• Distinguishing characteristics. A tendency to happiness.

Rose Mbikwa

• Identification. Pale, slender, red-haired, though tending to white hair in mature adult.
• Habitat. May be seen in daylight hours in the company of various other species, in and around the National Museum. Roosts at Hatton Rise.
• Status. Introduced, resident. Has been known to hybridise with native resident.
• Distinguishing characteristics. A very active species.

* SBJ: Birdwatcher’s shorthand for "Small Brown Job" — which includes very many hard-to-identify species all over the world.