State Birds: 2

Text and pictures describe each state bird.

Grade 3 Up Arranged alphabetically by state, this volume describes in text and pictures the characteristics of each state bird and how and when it came to be chosen. Some of the information is incorrect. For example, the American robin is said to be closely related to the thrush; it is, in fact, a thrush. The California quail was designated by that state's legislature in 1931, not 1943. The Northern flicker is called by its old name, the yellow-shafted flicker and is listed in the index only by its vernacular name, yellowhammer. Similarly, the Baltimore oriole is not indexed by its correct name, Northern oriole. Because the index lists only by full name (i.e., American robin), readers looking quickly for a bird (i.e., robin) will not find a listing. The full-color drawings place each bird in its typical habitat; although they are accurate, some, such as the California quail and the Rhode Island red, are curiously flat. This updates Shankle's State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols (Greenwood Pr, 1938), Earle's State Birds and Flowers (Morrow, 1961; o.p.) and Simon's Bird and Flower Emblems of the United States (Dodd, 1978). It corrects some of the incorrect dates in Simon, but Simon's arrangement and index are superior. Buckley's book needs to be supplemented with additional sources. Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, Conn.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.