What drives a man to travel to sixty countries and spend a fortune to count birds? And what if that man is your father?   Richard Koeppel’s obsession began at age twelve, in Queens, New York, when he first spotted a Brown Thrasher, and jotted the sighting in a notebook. Several decades, one failed marriage, and two sons later, he set out to see every bird on earth, becoming a member of a subculture of competitive bird watchers worldwide all pursuing the same goal. Over twenty-five years, he collected over seven thousand species, becoming one of about ten people ever to do so. To See Every Bird on Earth  explores the thrill of this chase, a crusade at the expense of all else—for the sake of making a check in a notebook. A riveting glimpse into a fascinating subculture, the book traces the love, loss, and reconnection between a father and son, and explains why birds are so critical to the human search for our place in the world. “Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book.”—Simon Winchester, author of  The Professor and the Madman   “A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds.”—Stefan Fatsis, author of  Word Freak   “Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father’s obsession.”— Audubon Magazine  (editor’s choice)  “As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships,  To See Every Bird on Earth  is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding.” —Chicago Tribune “Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book.”— Simon Winchester, author of  The Professor and the Madman   “A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds.”— Stefan Fatsis, author of  Word Freak   “Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father’s obsession.” — Audubon Magazine  (editor’s choice)  “As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships,  To See Every Bird on Earth  is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding.” —Chicago Tribune "Marvelous. I loved just about everything about this book." Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman "A lovingly told story . . . helps you understand what moves humans to seek escape in seemingly strange other worlds." Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak "Everyone has his or her addiction, and birdwatching is the drug of choice for the father of author Dan Koeppel, who writes affectionately but honestly about his father s obsession." Audubon Magazine (editor s choice) "As a glimpse into human behavior and family relationships, To See Every Bird on Earth is a rarity: a book about birding that nonbirders will find just as rewarding." Chicago Tribune Dan Koeppel is a well-known outdoors, nature, and adventure writer who has written for the New York Times Magazine , Outside , Audubon , Popular Science , and National Geographic Adventure , where he is a contributing editor. Koeppel has also appeared on CNN and Good Morning America, and is a former commentator for Public Radio International's Marketplace . Prologue My father and I were drinking champagne on a remote island in the Rio Negro, the dark river that flows into the Brazilian Amazon. IÆd hidden the bottle in my backpack, along with paper cups for the other members of our group. The toast was brief. For Dad, this was the moment he joined an elite cadreùfewer than a dozen others, living or dead, have ever seen more than seven thousand bird species, the milestone heÆd just reached. It was the culmination of fifty years of watching. For the rest of our group, the Amazonian Black Tyrantùa small flycatcher that shares the same coloration as the river we were travelingùwas just another number. But itÆs all about the numbers. Dad and I had been travelingùup the river in creaky boats, along mud-packed roads, and through deep, wet forestùfor nearly two weeks. I was on the verge of my fortieth birthday. It was the first extended period IÆd spent with Dad since I was a teenager. Throughout my childhood, as well as now, our time together was focused on birds: Dad watching them, and me watching Dad watch them. The group my father, Richard Koeppel, joined in Brazil is made up of people just like him: intensely dedicated, highly competitive bird watchers (or birders, as they prefer to be called) known as ôBig Listers.ö Approximately 9,600 bird species are found on earth. About 250 people have seen 5,000 of them; about 100 birders have reached 6,000. Several of the twelve or so birders at the seven-thousand level are racing toward eight thousand, a mark only two birdersùonly one now livingùhave reached. To see more than seven