Hummingbirds: Jewels in Flight

They can fly backwards, sideways, straight up and can hover like helicopters with an able maneuverability due to feather arrangement, internal wing structure and powerful flight muscles. Photojournalist Toops ( Great Smoky Mountains ) illustrates her comprehensive natural history of the hummingbird with 100 dazzling color photographs. Hummers are found only in the Western Hemisphere, with 21 species (of a total of more than 300) in North America. They live about five years, and their young leave the nest at three weeks of age; hummingbirds pollinate some 100 types of flowers (preferring red ones). Tracing the fall migration of a rubythroat from New York to Central America, Toops also reports on her own viewing in southeast Arizona, location of the largest concentration of hummers. She includes a discussion of artificial feeders and advice on landscaping to attract the birds, with lists of plants for each section of the country that will be welcomed by birders and gardeners alike. (Nov.)