The Lives of Birds: The Birds of the World and Their Behavior

Here is a splendid introduction to the world of birds. Short, Lamont Curator of Birds at Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History, begins his comprehensive account with an explanation of how a chick hatches. He then follows every phase of birds' lives--courtship, mating, feeding, nesting, egg-laying and incubation, migration. Short examines instinctive and learned behavior with examples of both; he discusses communication, vocal and non-vocal, and birds' social life. Finally, he looks at the relationship between birds and humans, noting that birds may represent one of our few authentic and remaining links with nature. Readers interested in birds will find this volume illuminating. Photos. (June)