[摘要] For readers in the Western Hemisphere, the history of the Paradise Parakeet parallels recent and not-so-recent lore on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (
C. principalis) and Carolina Parakeet in numerous ways, including countless plausible sightings that seemingly never get fully confirmed, people hoping to recreate lost species by hybridization or selective breeding of other species, and cults of believers forever grasping at new hypotheses that will allow them to deny extinction as the most likely status of the species in question. If for no other reason than its evaluation of how human emotions and dreams can play havoc with perception, Olsen's book is one that all ornithologists should read and ponder. I recommend it highly, especially for North American ornithologists seeking perspectives on the plight of endangered bird species of other lands and reference points in the onging debates about the existence of such species as Imperial and Ivory-billed woodpeckers.—NOEL F. R. SNYDER,
P.O. Box 16426, Portal, Arizona 85632, USA. E-mail: nfrs16426@vtc.net
