Hear Montgomery’s fascinating encounters with gorillas, snakes, and spiders. She takes us from the largest bird in the world, the Emu, to the smallest, the hummingbird. With their jewel-like foliage hummingbirds are capable of the most unique and astonishing feats such as flying backward and even upside down. Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter and author of many books, which often include stories of her encounters with animals. During research for her books, films, and articles, Sy Montgomery has been chased by an angry silver back gorilla in Zaire and bitten by a vampire bat in Costa Rica. She worked in a pit of 18,000 snakes in Manitoba and handled a wild tarantula in French Guiana. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University System of New Hampshire. Her many books have garnered numerous awards, and include The Curious Naturalist: Nature’s Everyday Mysteries (Down East Books 1991), Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species (Chelsea Green Publishing 2009), The Good, Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood (Ballantine Books 2007), Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur (Atria Books 2011), The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness. (Atria Books 2015), How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2018), Becoming a Good Creature (a children’s book) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2020), Condor Comeback (Scientists in the Field Series) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2020), The Hummingbirds’ Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings (Atria Books 2021)

 Interview Date: 6/4/2021      Tags: Sy Montgomery, emus, hummingbirds, Brenda Sherburn LaBelle, spiders, gorillas, Kakapo, Wendilgarda spider, wolf spiders, kangaroos and wallabies, Animals, Ecology/Nature/Environment