MARQUETTE — At 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 18, via Zoom, author James McCommons will talk about his upcoming nonfiction book, “The Feathers Wars and the Great Crusade to America’s Birds,” focusing on the transition from shotgun ornithology to sight recognition and the simultaneous evolution of optics and user-friendly field guides that led to the popularity of recreational birding.

The Feather Wars has been described as an entertaining and expansive work of American history about how disparate characters―progressive politicians, free-thinking society belles, nature writers and artists, bird-loving U.S. presidents, gunmakers, business titans and brave game wardens―came together in the early 20th century to save hundreds of species of birds. The book, to be published in hardback by St. Martin’s Press on March 17, is available for preorder at  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250286895/thefeatherwars/

McCommons is a professor emeritus at Northern Michigan University and a veteran journalist, specializing in ecology, environmental and travel topics. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Audubon, Discover among other publications. He is the author of “Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service” and “Camera Hunter: George Shiras III and the Birth of Wildlife Photography.”

This virtual event is sponsored by the Laughing Whitefish Bird Alliance, and the link to the presentation can be found on the LWBA website, https://laughingwhitefishbirdalliance.com/