Life Histories of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers and Their Allies

Rating:
Summary: nuts about nuthatches
Review: One of the pleasant mysteries that must be solved upon moving to a new geographical area is the identities of the local and migrant birds. Some like bald eagles and cardinals are a no-brainer. But what about all of those indeterminate grayish-brownish-whitish birds that may only be identifiable by their habits? This is where a book like "Life Histories of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers, and Their Allies" proves to be useful. It contains 142 black-and-white photographs of birds performing activities such as feeding and incubating, and in the case of the white-breasted nuthatch, creeping head-first down a tree-trunk---not just sitting on a branch and looking mysterious.

By no means are the photographs the highlight of this volume. Arthur Cleveland Bent was one of America's foremost ornithologists, and his twenty-volume series on North American birds was originally published under the sponsorship of the Smithsonian Institution. In this particular volume he and his correspondents have compiled specific observations on about 104 different birds, including various nuthatches, creepers, wren-tits, dippers, wrens, mockingbirds and thrashers. Bent also utilizes the writings of America's great naturalists of the past, including Audubon, Burroughs, and Brewster.

This Dover edition is an unabridged, unaltered republication of the original 1948 edition. Its anecdotal style is very readable, even charming. The copious details of avian nesting habits, courtship patterns, plumage and field markings, food, songs, and flight habits are made interesting by the dedication and enthusiasm of the hundreds of observers who contributed to this book.

In it, I finally learned why one of my favorite birds, the white-breasted nuthatch moves head-first down tree trunks. Francis H. Allen (1912) points out an advantage in this procedure, saying: "I suspect that by approaching his prey from above he detects insects...which would be hidden from another point of view." The woodpeckers and the creepers can take care of the rest by moving up the trunk.

By all means, begin your bird-watching career with some of the good field guides such as "Eastern Birds" by Roger Tory Peterson. When you are ready to delve more deeply into the natural history of your local birds, I strongly recommend these volumes by Arthur Cleveland Bent.

Rating:
Summary: nuts about nuthatches
Review: One of the pleasant mysteries that must be solved upon moving to a new geographical area is the identities of the local and migrant birds. Some like bald eagles and cardinals are a no-brainer. But what about all of those indeterminate grayish-brownish-whitish birds that may only be identifiable by their habits? This is where a book like "Life Histories of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers, and Their Allies" proves to be useful. It contains 142 black-and-white photographs of birds performing activities such as feeding and incubating, and in the case of the white-breasted nuthatch, creeping head-first down a tree-trunk---not just sitting on a branch and looking mysterious.

By no means are the photographs the highlight of this volume. Arthur Cleveland Bent was one of America's foremost ornithologists, and his twenty-volume series on North American birds was originally published under the sponsorship of the Smithsonian Institution. In this particular volume he and his correspondents have compiled specific observations on about 104 different birds, including various nuthatches, creepers, wren-tits, dippers, wrens, mockingbirds and thrashers. Bent also utilizes the writings of America's great naturalists of the past, including Audubon, Burroughs, and Brewster.

This Dover edition is an unabridged, unaltered republication of the original 1948 edition. Its anecdotal style is very readable, even charming. The copious details of avian nesting habits, courtship patterns, plumage and field markings, food, songs, and flight habits are made interesting by the dedication and enthusiasm of the hundreds of observers who contributed to this book.

In it, I finally learned why one of my favorite birds, the white-breasted nuthatch moves head-first down tree trunks. Francis H. Allen (1912) points out an advantage in this procedure, saying: "I suspect that by approaching his prey from above he detects insects...which would be hidden from another point of view." The woodpeckers and the creepers can take care of the rest by moving up the trunk.

By all means, begin your bird-watching career with some of the good field guides such as "Eastern Birds" by Roger Tory Peterson. When you are ready to delve more deeply into the natural history of your local birds, I strongly recommend these volumes by Arthur Cleveland Bent.