The story begins dramatically–Beth, an Oxford professor of ornithology and Hippolyta, a famous birder and author are on an expedition in Spain in search of a deathwhistler. (Governments pay for dangerous and endangered birds for their bird sanctuaries.) To capture one would be quite a feat! Just as they are ready to swoop it up, Devon, a Cambridge professor and ornithologist, beats them to it! The handsome devil has the nerve to pause and smile at Beth! He is there with his associate, Herr Oberhufter, a fellow birder and High Flier of the Year. Beth and Hippolyta are outraged and try to shoot them but someone has removed their bullets. Beth then tries to stab Devon with her parasol. Ornithologists can be ruthless.  

A week later, Beth and Hippolyta are in France for a bird lecture when chaos breaks out. The International Ornithological Society (IOS) announces a contest to find a caladrius recently sighted in England. It’s considered to be the holy grail of magical birds and people believe it can remove illness from a person’s body. Whoever finds it will win five thousand pounds, and will be named International Birder of the Year and, if they are professors, they’ll be given tenure! And so the adventure begins as birdwatchers from all over the world rush to England. Many, of course, are ruthless competitors that will resort to blackmail, theft and bribery to find the magical bird. It’s a very fun setup for a romance novel!

Hippolyta gets the unscrupulous idea to steal Devon and Oberhufter’s train tickets from their hotel room. Not to be outdone, Oberhufter uses his influence so that he and Devon can ride the train for free. When the train pulls into Calais, Hippolyta and Oberhufter decide to scheme together and they cause Beth and Devon to miss the ferry to Dover. All is not lost, however. Devon comes to Beth’s rescue and the two jump onto a fishing trawler that delivers them to Dover. From there they travel together in pursuit of the caladrius.

The two encounter any number of  obstacles as they search for the caladrius. There is only one horse! The inn has only one available room and it has only one bed! Whatever will they do?

I enjoyed both the leads. Devon is smitten with Beth and admires her intellect and kindness and when she puts on her spectacles, he wants to kiss her. Beth thinks he is handsome and a genius. And it’s great fun when journalists begin to follow Beth and Devon and crowds cheer them on.  The two banter marvelously and encounter many wonderful characters that help them along the way.

I didn’t love the awkward minor plot line where two publicists for the IOS believe if Beth and Devon fall in love it will increase applications to Ornithology programs at the colleges. And at one point, I started to lose interest in the bird chasing and I feared the caladrius bird might end up in the wrong hands. But, thankfully, there was a twist I didn’t see coming and this story has a very satisfying and sweet ending.

I love books with humor and adventure. The Ornithologists Field Guide to Love has those and magical birds. What’s not to love? It gets a happy B+ from me.