Index : p. 580-92 ; This unusual bird book, in that it is as much about human beings as it is about birds. As the title suggests, it attemps to explore the common ground where these two very different organisms meet. It is about how people's lives are entwined with, and are very often shaped by, their encounters with birds. It is not a book of biology, although some explanations of bird behaviour have entered its scope. Not does it seek to identify birds, which is the stock purpose of most ornithological guides.