Hummingbirds of Texas: With Their New Mexico And Arizona Ranges (Tam Nature Guides)
Book Description: Written for a general audience, with spectacular images for birders and nature enthusiasts at every level, Hummingbirds of Texas: With Their New Mexico and Arizona Ranges reveals the enormous appeal of this tiniest and shiniest of birds.
The book opens with a look at the many manifestations of the human attraction to these flying jewels, including the Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen-science project run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as the Rockport-Fulton Hummer/Bird Celebration, one of several festivals dedicated to hummingbirds. The book also includes easy tips for attracting hummingbirds to your own lawn or garden, such as what to plant in the ground or in pots and how to choose and take care of feeders.
The authors then showcase the nineteen different hummingbird species that have appeared in the region covered by the book. Magnificent color photographs and original artwork aid in identification and accompany descriptions, range maps, and abundance graphs for each species.
Subjects: Birds & birdwatching, NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS, Nature, Nature/Ecology, Birds & Birdwatching - Guides, Birds & Birdwatching - General, Arizona, Hummingbirds, New Mexico, Texas,
Must-Have Hummingbird Book for the Region
This is a terrific collection of information for anyone interested in watching, feeding and hosting these marvelous birds. Topics include interaction between humans and hummers, emotional attachment, celebrations, banding; research; places to see hummingbirds in Texas; gardening to attract the birds; feeder advice; how to photograph these tiny birds; and finally the identification guide to all 19 of the species that have appeared in the region.
The guide sets aside two pages for each species, and impressively includes both a photo and several painted illustrations of the different sexes, a range map, seasonal abundance graph, and description of the species (with behavior and song).
The photos throughout the book by Sid and Shirley Rucker are incredible and worth looking at all alone, and the paintings by Clemente Guzman III in the guide section are excellent. Even the illustration on the back of the book's slip cover is delightful -- all 19 species of hummingbird described within.
Although too large to use as field guide, this book is a must-have for hummer-lovers of any age at home, and would make a wonderful gift. Highly recommended.
Fantastic
My wife and I enjoy watching the hummingbirds through our front window and I decided to find a reference book on the little birds so we could see what kinds shared our front yard.
I was amazed to find so much information in one small book about hummingbirds and so many beautiful pictures to help identify them. There is information about their nesting, eating, migrations and tips to help encourage the birds to share your yard. It is also amazing that because of their extreme need for high energy food and the scarcity of nectar, they are born to be very aggressive to protect their sources.
The author did us all a great favor in writing this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to watch hummingbirds
