The Joy of Birding is drawn from Chuck Bernstein’s columns in Bird Watcher’s Digest. The 22 chapters represent a smorgasbord of birding experiences and lore, but in displaying such a variety the author has created a strain between the main title, “The Joy of Birding,” and the subtitle, “A Guide to Better Birdwatching.” A stronger emphasis on either the adventure or the teaching might have led to a more unified book.