Press Releases

Bird Watching Answer Book

Author responds to real questions from real birders

November 17, 2009

Ithaca, NY-Why is a cardinal attacking my windows? (p.87) Will birds explode if they eat rice thrown after a wedding? (p.17) How can I keep squirrels out of my bird feeders? (p.37) Do birds play? (p.268) Why don't birds fall off branches as they sleep? (p. 305)

For years, bird expert and Cornell Lab of Ornithology science editor Laura Erickson has heard questions like these and hundreds more. Now, drawing on questions that come to the Cornell Lab, she's compiled answers to more than 200 common and not-so-common bird questions in a handy pocket-sized book that reads like a conversation with your friendly neighborhood "bird lady."

Author and bird expert Kenn Kaufman says, " This is a gem of a book! It's filled to the brim with solid, reliable information, as you would expect from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it's written in Laura Erickson's clear, lively, engaging style. The organization of the book, as a series of answers to hundreds of intriguing questions, makes it easy to look up quick facts or to just browse for fun. I would recommend The Bird Watching Answer Book to anyone with even a casual interest in birds."

The Bird Watching Answer Book, produced by Storey Publishing, is organized into three sections: watching and feeding birds, bird behavior, and bird biology. In addition to down-to-earth scientific answers, readers will find plenty of quirky stories and interesting asides like these:

• Turkey Vultures have been used to detect gas pipeline leaks because of their great sense of smell.

• American Crows can remember human faces.

• The Brown Thrasher holds the record for knowing the most songs: 2,000.

• The largest individual bird nest on record weighed nearly three tons.

• Feathers are made of a substance found in no other animal tissue except alligator claws.

• Four American presidents kept pet mockingbirds in the White House. (Jefferson named his bird Dick.)

"Whether people like birds or not, they notice them," says Erickson. "My hope is that, with the book, people start noticing not just that birds are there, but that they're really cool beings sharing this planet with us."

Erickson has written three previous books and is a past winner of the National Outdoor Book Award. She also writes Twin Beaks, the first blog by birds and for birds.

Note: To request a review copy of this book, please contact Michelle Blackley at Storey Publishing, Michelle.Blackley@storey.com, (413) 346-2184. Laura Erickson is available for interviews upon request. Call or email Pat Leonard at (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu.