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It's summer -- an excellent time of year to get outside and see what the birds are up to in the Washington, DC area. In order to whet your appetite and make your birdwatching experience more rewarding, here's a handful of books on bird anatomy, bird life, how to birdwatch, and some field guides to help you identify the particular birds you come across during your rambles.
How Birds Work: An Illustrated Guide to the Wonders of Form and Function - from Bones to Beak by Marianne Taylor
Concentrating on anatomy, this compact book is full of drawings, diagrams, and photographs that show the reader all the special characteristics of the avian skeleton, nervous system, feathers, and muscles -- and then describes how birds fulfill the necessary functions of reproduction, digestion, flight, and much more. Taylor focuses on what birds have in common but also points out curious instances of divergence among species and addresses particulars that illustrate the adaptability of birds in a wide variety of habitats.
The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman
This book approaches the subject of bird behavior from two complementary perspectives: explaining behavior and examining how human observers (ornithologists and others) have fashioned their experiments and tailored their observational strategies in order to expand human knowledge on the topic. Ackerman's passion for birds is on every page, with engrossing accounts of a full survey of fascinating avian behaviors. By the same author: The Genius of Birds, which examines the sometimes astonishing intelligence that birds exhibit (tool use, navigation, mimicry, etc.).
1,001 Secrets Every Birder Should Know by Sharon "Birdchick" Stiteler
From recipes for various birdseed mixes to how to best use binoculars and etiquette when birding in a group, this book covers all the topics that will make you an enthusiastic and knowledgeable birder. It's a volume that's great fun to dip in and out of, replete as it is with all kinds of tidbits of information and full of photographs, and it will prepare you to get the most out of your experience in the field -- educate you on how to look at birds with the eye of an expert and be comfortable while doing it.
Birds of Greater Washington, DC by Marc Parnell
Finally, you'll undoubtedly want a guidebook (or two) to enable you to identify the birds you spot. This pocket guide is small enough to take with you during your birdwatching sessions, and it focuses on the birds you'll find in and around DC. But you might want a large book to look through that covers all the bird species endemic to North America...
National Geographic Complete Birds of North America edited by Jonathan Alderfer et al.
... which is where this wonderful volume comes in. It contains detailed information about every bird you'll find in North America: plumage, behavior, seasonal distribution, similar species, voice, etc. You'll learn all you need to know about each species and acquire an appreciation of the great diversity of birds on the continent. And -- who knows -- it might even encourage you to travel outside the DC area to do some birding in less familiar habitats.
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About the Author
Peter C. works in the Adult Services department at MLK Library.