cover image The Birds Around Us: With Coupon

The Birds Around Us: With Coupon

Ortho Books. Ortho Books, $29.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-89721-068-3

Readers seeking a good, comprehensive reference book about birds need look no farther. A dozen writers (including Roger Tory Peterson on ""The Joy of Birds'') offer detailed, lucid information on all aspects of bird life: evolution, physiology, behavior; flight, migration, navigation; habitat and avian ecology; how to build nesting boxes, feeders and birdbaths; how to attract birds; their food preferences. J. P. Myers and Robert F. Cardillo instruct us in bird photography; Kit and George Harrison, coauthors of America's Favorite Backyard Birds, provide life histories of 125 common North American species, with color photos and range maps for each bird. The scientific material amounts to a home-study course in ornithology; additionally, there is a wealth of practical advice for the backyard bird-watcher. This volume makes all other books on the subject (aside from field guides) superfluous. (October 1)