The book was lying untouched in a colleague's office, so I brought it home to read and enjoy, and I share two sample pages from it here - click on images to enlarge. The book was written and beautifully illustrated by Ran Levi Yamamori, with translation into Arabic by Balig Achmad Jazi. Yamamori seems to run a publishing house which produces many beautiful books.
The Hoopoe (above) is Israel's national bird
PS. The book reminded me of this poem by Yehuda Amichai.
4 I came upon an old zoology textbook, Brehm, Volume II, Birds: in sweet phrases, an account of the life of the starling, swallow, and thrush. Full of mistakes in antiquated Gothic typeface, but full of love, too. "Our feathered friends." "Migrate from us to warmer climes." Nest, speckled egg, soft plumage, nightingale, stork. "The harbirngers of spring." The robin, red-breasted. Year of publication: 1913, Germany, on the eve of the war that was to be the eve of all my wars. My good friend who died in my arms, in his blood, on the sands of Ashdod. 1948, June. Oh my-friend, red-breasted.
(From 7 Laments for the War Dead)
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