How on earth did Holman and Blegvad, both of whom I've enjoyed previously, make the story of identifying and rescuing an exotic marsh bird, boring?  I guess it's just that nobody has a personality, and the mystery is just a matter of sitting in a tree (as a blind) until the bird that's making the weird noise shows itself.  Whoop-de-doo.  The emphasis is on a lesson of conservation... and of course there has to be a story first, before the lesson, for a novel to be any good. ( )