Book excerpt: A compelling collection of Bill Oddie's latest magazine columns, website blogs and general musings. Bill Oddie has been the voice and face of birding broadcasting for more than three decades. Those of a certain age will fondly remember Bill as the shortest and hairiest of the trio of The Goodies, a popular and long-running comedy series that followed hot on the heels of Monty Python. After those heady days, Bill reinvented himself as the face (and voice) of mainstream birdwatching in Britain. He fronted television and radio programmes and wrote widely in the press on subjects close to his heart. Never one to shirk controversy, Bill's writings were always informative and entertaining. In this new book, Bill has compiled and expanded a collection of his recent published musings about birds and birdwatching, and the wildlife he has been fortunate to see on his many travels over the years. The collection covers a wide array of subjects, from a less than satisfactory press trip to the Galapgaos in the 1980s and recent disagreements with his London neighbours over the noisy squadrons of parakeets over their respective gardens, to encounters with Orcas in Argentina and Iceland, and with an invisible Tiger in India. Writing in his witty and inimitable style, Bill is sure to entertain and enthral his many fans with this new book of thoughts and opinions on the world of natural history. The book is illustrated throughout with Bill's charming and comic line drawings.