"The most intense moment of a twitch is when the bird is both there and not there." Discuss

                                                 

Mya-Rose has fascinating story to tell about her challenging childhood

AN unwritten rule among birders is that you should "always try to share your sightings".

So says Mya-Rose Craig in her fascinating book, Birdgirl.

Another of her observations - which requires more reflection from the reader - is that "the most intense moment of a twitch is when the bird is both there and not there."

And she further notes: "The harder you work for the bird, the greater your reward and the sweeter the pleasure."

Mya-Rose is one of  the most interesting of the new generation of birders.

As a child, she was encouraged by her parents - both keen birders.

Even before completing her schooldays in Bristol, she had visited no fewer than 40 countries across seven continents and seen more than 5,000 of the world's species. 

Her book recalls some of her most memorable experiences to date, not least of them watching a  Green-breasted Pitta deep in a Ugandan rain forest.

She writes: "Watching a small bird sing and dance its heart out, my own heart felt like it was exploding.

"Such a display of extraordinary beauty made tears prick my eyes. 

"There wasn't anywhere else on earth I'd rather have been than here in the clearing, watching this little bird call for a mate."

Even if were book dedicated solely to matters ornithological, Birdgirl would be a compelling read. 

But is is given added texture by other elements, for instance her disquiet at  the lack (at least in the UK) of racial diversity within  birding circles.

As the daughter of a White father and a Bangladeshi mother, she laments the casual racism and Islamophobia that she regularly used to encounter at school.

Also threaded into her narrative - with extraordinary frankness - is the challenges she and her father faced  as a result of her  mother's unpredictable bipolar behaviour which  variously sparked night-terrors, depression and mania.

Despite many fabulous moments, life has clearly often been difficult for the author.

As she ruefully concludes: "I have not enjoyed an easy migration into adulthood."

Birdgirl is published in paperback (£10.99) by Vintage/ Penguin.