Eight-year-old Agnes Peregrine is the daughter of a famous ornithologist, and a talented birdcaller in her own right. Traveling around the world with her mother, Agnes is able to imitate everything from the great hornbill of the African savanna to the sulfur-crested cockatoo of New Guinea to the ruby throated hummingbird found in New York's Central Park. But when Agnes and her mother go the Himalayan Mountains in search of the most elusive bird of all--the pink-headed duck-Colonel Edwin Pittsnap, ruthless bird hunter and collector-is following close behind. He is certain that this is the chance he has been looking for to capture one of these rare birds. Agnes is sure she is up to the challenge of calling the duck, but is she up to facing Colonel Pittsnap? Candace Fleming's over- the-top story of pure morals and dastardly deeds is further given the texture of good old-fashioned melodrama by Giselle Potter's illustrations, which blend a muted palette with rich, humorous visual characterization and background detail. The endpapers of this handsome picture book show Potter's rendering of each of the bird species mentioned in the text along with factual information about the particular bird's behaviors and habitat. (Ages 7-10)

Agnes Peregrine is the best bird caller in the world, so it's no surprise when the World Bird Society sends her to search for the rare pink-headed duck. But Edwin Pittsnap, evil bird catcher and stuffer, has his own plans for the bird wonder. And it looks like his plans just may work . . . until Agnes caws!