Secret Lives Of Common Birds: Enjoying Bird Behavior Through the Seasons - Softcover

Read, Marie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0618558721 ISBN 13: 9780618558728

Publisher: Harper, 2005

Synopsis

All around us birds are going about their lives, offering fascinating insights into how they survive and interact with one another, defending territories, courting mates, nesting, raising young, displaying, preening, feeding, and more. The difference between noticing and missing these secret lives is a little time, a relaxed mind, and some curiosity. An introduction to the world of bird behavior, Secret Lives of Common Birds explores many of the most important tasks in the lives of the familiar birds that enrich our lives. Wildlife photographer Marie Read has a knack for capturing the most intimate, often dramatic moments in the activities of birds. In this book, her beautiful photographs of birds in action are paired with engaging and informative descriptions of behaviors that anyone might observe in the backyard or at a local park, pond, or woodland. Her lighthearted writing style is a delight as the reader travels through the seasons of the year and discovers the secret lives of common birds.
 

About this title

About the Author

MARIE READ is an acclaimed wildlife photographer and nature writer whose photographs are regularly featured in magazines, books, and calendars. A birdwatcher since childhood, she has traveled throughout the world to photograph birds.

From Booklist

Why do birds build nests? Why do they sing? Why do we sometimes see them lying in a daze on a lawn? These and other questions that an interested observer of backyard birds might ask are answered in a tidy book by a wildlife photographer. Taking a seasonal approach, the author examines what viewers can expect for each season and what the behavior they have seen means. For example, in the spring nests are built both to attract mates and to shelter young. Singing, too, attracts mates, but it also serves as the first line of territorial defense. Birds lying dazed on the grass are often sunbathing, which not only feels good but also is thought to repel parasites. Although migration is the most obvious autumn behavior, Read also explains how and why birds molt their feathers. Finding food and keeping warm are major winter activities that amateur naturalists can explore. Beautifully illustrated with the author's photos--many are exquisite close-ups--this book is an excellent start for learning why birds do what they do. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0618558721
• ISBN 13: 9780618558728
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96