James Bond was a serious birder

Author took his character's name from that of published ornithologist.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune
November 2, 2021 at 1:10PM
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
At one point in “Die Another Day,” Pierce Brosnan carries “The Birds of the West Indies” by ornithologist James Bond. (Keith Hamshere/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The original James Bond, the nonfictional one, was an American ornithologist who had a winter home in Jamaica.

Ian Fleming, the author of the Bond-the-spy books, explained in an interview that he wanted a natural-sounding name for his hero. Fleming also wintered on the island. He had read the book "The Birds of the West Indies" by Bond the birder.

Fleming simply appropriated the author's name in 1952 for use in the book introducing his hero. This story is told in an article in the magazine Smithsonian.

The Bond bird book made a brief appearance in the 2002 Bond movie "Die Another Day." Actor Pierce Brosnan, as Bond the spy, can be seen in the lobby of a Havana hotel carrying the bird book. For cover in that movie, hero Bond identifies himself as an ornithologist.

"The Birds of the West Indies" by James Bond
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Jim Williams

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