Birds Books

Despite the plethora of photos, there is still ample room to write!

If you are like me...you love backyard birds, you have several kinds of feeders (and several kinds of seed) but you can't readily identify all your feathered visitors, this calendar is for you.

I plan to hang mine in the kitchen, close to the windows that overlook my backyard. I can not only write down my family's endless appointments and engagements where all can see them, but I can compare the bright, beautiful, and informative pictures to the birds I see in my garden.

This calendar is definitely on my list of life's small pleasures. Take a look at its gorgeous contents and you'll know why.

Having just read the first chapters, I can say that the writings of Audubon are perfect for a 5th Generation, or so, American to read. I'm interested in my Genealogy, and Audubon, because of his walking trips, clearly tells me what life and the natural world were like then. The book had a special glow, when I lifted it off of the library shelf. Audubon, with all of his talent and intelligence, also needed to make a living with respect to what the federal government was doing at the time which made it harder; i.e. Louisiana Purchase pay-off of debt to Spain. My ancestors came between 1800 and 1850 to Ohio.

Richard Rhodes is the author of more than twenty works of history and fiction, winning many awards: his biography of John James Audubon appeared in 2004 and this companion reader is a wonderful survey of Audubon's own colorful writings about the American wilderness. Rhodes edits and gathers the best of Audubon's own voice, providing an anthology spiced with full-color reproductions of sixteen of his watercolors. The result is a wonderful keepsake reader's edition of a classic collection of wildlife observations.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

Paperbacks tend to lack the durability of library hardcover binding and generally aren't recommended for vigorous lending at the school level, but there are always exceptions and Awesome Ospreys: Fishing Birds Of The World is one of them. Joyce Mihran Turley provides realistic and gorgeous color drawings in a series of magnificent full-page displays complimented by osprey facts. Relatively little is written about ospreys for either children or adults, making Awesome Ospreys of interest to both audiences - and a highly recommended collection acquisition.

Although the book is fairly small I found it to be packed with information that is appropriate for all ages. Jeff explains how he as a photographer catures the extraordinary images that illustrate the book but more importantly how the welfare of his subjects comes first. The book is extremely well organized using the different orders of birds and lists the habitat and range the birds are found in as well as information relating to the young. Various types of biological terms are used throughout the book accompanied with easy to understand definitions. Jeff also provides some interesting behavior observations about some of the species in his book. For example,
a baby Grebe's first meal may consist of feathers. You'll have to read the book to find out why.

Wildlife biologist/author Jeffrey Rich's lovely color close-ups of wild birds of all kinds is the centerpiece of Baby Birds, a slim but colorful book which narrows the focus to baby birds in Alaska, Hawaii and the West. Explanations of orders, habitats, range and clutch size accompany these bright, compelling photos. It's unusual to see baby birds featured for adult audiences: all ages will enjoy the presentation.

Despite its having been published over two decades ago, the book includes plenty of time- and experience-tested tips for creating feeding stations in your backyard and around your property. I don't think the book leaves any questions unanswered. I especially appreciate the "Calendar of Your Birding Year" chapter, which tells you what to expect every month of the year, as far as number and types of visitors. At this Amazon listing, definitely check out the table of contents.

A MUST HAVE for anyone interested in birdfeeding and birdwatching.

Although this book contains few color pictures (the first edition copy I own)it still remains the best bird feeding book ever published. If you want cute pictures birds at a bird feeder this may not be the book for you, however if you want information and facts backed by research about how to attract birds to your backyard this remains THE best book. First published 26 years ago I can not find a book with more useful information than this book. It's fun to read and loaded with information. It does contain lots of excellent photos but they are in B&W.

This is a neat book. I learned alot about what to feed the birds. I liked the pictures.

This is by far the best book for children and families on attracting birds to your yard. Chock-full of information that is presented in an appealing manner, this book covers a wide range of material to help children and families get started with backyard bird watching. Some of the more unique sections are a directory of plants providing food for birds, a table showing the types of seeds and food eaten by various bird species. There are lots of good color photos, and a variety of projects for children.

I have identified more birds with this book than with the other numerous field guides I own. It's lightweight and slips easily into a bag, or sits on the windowsill for identification on-the-fly, so to speak. I only wish companion guides for insects, trees or other regions were available. Would love it if the author compiled photographs of females and young of the species, as well as the males. Descriptions of females and young are excellent, though.

I first saw this book at the Cradle of Forrestry in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. It is a beautiful book with an excellent format - sharp colorful pictures, useful information, and a record keeping section. I wish there was an edition for northeastern birds. I would keep it by my kitchen window!

This calendar is a must for anyone who appreciates the birds that you see everyday and their beauty. Great photos! Very lifelike!

The pictures are very lifelike and create an appreication for the birds that you see everyday. Well worth the money!

This is the most informative bat book that I've picked up so far. Lots of great information if you love bats and want to know more about them, or fear bats and are interested in learning to love them. Lots of great photos, but not a picture book at all. Probably too wordy for little kids, but great for adults.

Why don't baby bats fall off mom bats in flight? Hmmm? The answer to this and all of your other curious musings about the most successful and least understood of the mammals are presented in this latest volume of a Smithsonian series. For children or adults, with excellent close- up photos, this one is sure to foster a growing interest in our flying relatives. About 1/4 of mammal species have winged fingers, big ears and knees turned sideways to facilitate dangling from ceilings, and that doesn't include your weird Uncle Mort! Bats occur on every continent except Antarctica, and in eco-niches as diverse as blood sucking, fruit chewing, fish nipping and insect consumption. Some are excellent mousers. Several types may live for thirty years. As mentioned in my review of THE FORGOTTEN POLLINATORS (Stephen L. Buchmann & Gary Paul Nabhan, Shearwater Books, 1996), the bats include species critical to reproduction for many types of plant, and (along with other pollinator species) many are in steep decline. Here's one little piece of brain candy from this high quality sampler: Baby bats' milk teeth (they have two sequential sets like most other mammals) are hooked and pointy. They lock on to mom's nipple like a Voskod docked to Mir. Look Ma! No hands!

This should be one of those books that everyone read. A lot of people either like to keep the heads in the sand about animal slaughter and living conditions. It makes them feel better and they don't have their conscience nagging them. When they get to the grocery store, the meat is neatly wrapped and ready for purchase. This book details what happens on a farm. Gone are the days of all the animals roaming free. Now it's just money, money, money. True, some people may just not know how animals are treated but it's time everyone finds out. It's a very short book, so if you can get your hands on a copy, you really should read it.

Vegetarian educators in the know have most likely read, reread, and even memorized sections of Diet for a New America and Vegan: The New Ethics ofEating. These and other writings that expose the practices by which agri- and aquaculture thrive are the encyclopedias for the growing vegetarianalternative lifestyle.Gene Bauston, co-founder and co-director of Farm Sanctuary, the nation's oldest and largest sanctuaries for abused food animals, has written what can be described as a companion piece to these works.Battered Birds, Crated Herds is a short, well- referenced book of essay length chapters. The first twelve are devoted to every apparent (cows, pigs, poultry) and hidden (horses, fish, transportation) practice in factory food animal production. Though the longest chapter is six pages, Bauston has thoroughly documented and researched his subject. Battered Birds amounts to a Cliff Notes version of other extended exposés. Accompanying the essays are dozens of photos which impressively compliment that which Bauston discloses.Students will find Battered Birds an excellent reference tool for reports or presentations. Educators can use the quick read as a handy fresher course or primer any time. Skeptics can even use the book, as no claim Bauston putsforth is without reference­and the source for most are industry publications.The author is quite capable of making the food animal industry eat their own words. The last two chapters leave the reader with tools. One explains the work of Farm Sanctuary; the other explores the hows, whys, and many benefits of pure vegetarian diet. Spiced throughout the book are inspiring quotes by famous and infamous vegetarians. These alone make picking up a copy of Battered Birds, Crated Herds worthwhile.