A Guide to Feeding Habits, Behavior, Distribution, and Abundance

by Erica H. Dunn and Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes

from W.W. Norton

In North America, between 30 and 40 million people purchase bird food each year.  For anyone who feeds birds, this book will be an indispensable companion.

This book, based on years of study and surveys, offers more information on the feeding habits of birds than has ever before been available.  Here we will find out what species frequent feeders in different parts of North America, how often these species visit feeders, and what they prefer to eat.  We learn, for instance, that a red-winged blackbird may not try a novel food until it sees another try it first; that over 150 pygmy nuthatches have been reported roosting together in a single tree cavity; that redpolls can spend adjacent winters in sites over 1,200 miles apart; and that crows post sentinels in feeding flocks to watch for danger.  Unlike ordinary bird guides, this book focuses exclusively on birds that are likely to appear at your feeder.

In addition to fascinating descriptions of each species there are clear, charming illustrations for identification as well as maps that show distribution and frequency of feeder visits.   Amateurs and professionals alike will find this an engaging and necessary book.

Erica H. Dunn, a research scientist for the Canadian Wildlife Service, is one of North America's leading experts on birds at feeders.  She founded Project FeederWatch and has written widely on the subject of bird feeding.  Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes is a graphic designer for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, home of Project FeederWatch, and once served as the research coordinator for FeederWatch.

A portion of the book's sales go to support the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, so buy yours today! Go to The Cornell Birding Shop.