Friday, November 14, 2008

James Bond Was a Birder


The new James Bond movie
, Quantum Of Solace, is opening today, which is my excuse to mention that Ian Fleming named his star character after famed birder and author James Bond, who wrote Birds of the West Indies, which is still one of the very best books on Caribbean avian fauna. Ian Fleming had a copy of Bond's bird book at his home in Jamaica -- a home called "Golden Eye." So now you know ...
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1 comment:

Mark Churchill said...

One of the Bond short stories opens with a good description of the Jamaican "doctor bird", a hummingbird whose long sweeping central tail feathers reminded folks of an old-fashioned doctor's tuxedo with tails. Obviously Ian Fleming paid attention to his surroundings...