Frank Izaguirre

Two new nonfiction titles join the ranks of the already formidable canon of New England bird and nature writing: John R. Nelson’s Flight Calls: Exploring Massachusetts through Birds and Robert Tougias’s Birder on Berry Lane: Three Acres, Twelve Months, Thousands of Birds.

This is a beautifully written book that speaks to the extraordinary wonder of discovering birds, the elation yet trepidation of being part of a new community, and the emotional growth birds and birding may bring.

Kricher’s book is a gold mine of information for the curious bird enthusiast. There is little that birders won’t find in this wide-ranging volume; in particular, there is plenty to keep the interested reader abreast of the diversity of knowledge and research about birds.

How Birds Work is filled with solid, detailed information delivered in a way that allows for comprehension without loss of valuable content.

Parking Lot Birding is a fun guide loaded with must-see locations in Texas, with up to 15 birding destinations to choose from in each chapter.

While a children’s book about an extinct genus may not sound uplifting, Loebel-Fried manages to deftly tell the story of the enigmatic ʻōʻō while giving us reason to rejoice in the wonder of Hawaiian birds.

Well organized to assist readers in finding what’s most important to them, the book covers what and how to feed, how to create a bird-friendly backyard, bird feeder building plans, a quite extensive section on bird behavior and biology, and identification of the 196 species covered.

A review by Adrienne and Frank Izaguirre Wingspan (2019), Wingspan European Expansion (2019), Wingspan Digital Edition (2020), Wingspan Oceania Expansion (2020), by Elizabeth Hargrave Stonemaier Games Available from Buteo Books: Original, European Expansion, and Oceania Expansion. Reviewers’ Note: The reviewers thank Bryan Alukonis and Cristine Izaguirre for testing the game with them. Birds are well represented in nearly all forms of media: books, music, film, even video games. It’s rare for birds to make a big debut in a realm of media in which they weren’t previously portrayed with any amount of prominence, making read more >>

Reading New Guinea: Nature and Culture of Earth's Grandest Island during the quasi-lockdown phase of a global pandemic may make this distant location feel even more unattainable, but if it's the best one can do for now, it is an impressive second best.

Pelagic Publishing's new Where to Watch Birds in France and the Crossbill Guides Foundation's Provence and Camargue are two major new additions to the birding literature of France, both sure to whet the traveling appetite.

Anyone who loves birds, travel, or the idea of Big Year birding will enjoy Falcon Freeway.

This book is a testament to recognizing and saluting avian diversity in all of its forms. And above all, Ackerman relishes the pursuit of knowledge and the possibilities it uncovers: The more you learn about birds, the more they promise to astonish you.

Here is a highly anecdotal, engaging story of the quest by Bergman and his wife to see the world’s 18 penguin species. Intensely personal, his quest is full of adventure, challenges, serious medical issues, danger, and descriptions of some of the most remote areas anywhere.

This book drives home from multiple angles just how pervasively winter influences almost all parts of the life cycle. Birders of all backgrounds are likely to find that Birds in Winter greatly expands their appreciation of the season's influence, and will no doubt enjoy learning more about the lives of both familiar species and those they may have never heard of before.

Wenfei Tong’s new book, Bird Love: The Family Life of Birds, is important in bringing to popular attention some of the diversity in avian family organization and for placing that diversity in a contemporary explanatory framework.

A review by Daphne Gemmill  Mrs. Pankhurst’s Purple Feather: Fashion, Fury, and Feminism—Women’s Fight for Change, by Tessa Boase Aurum Press, 2018 320 pages, hardcover ABA Sales–Buteo Books 15094 I was shocked when I was asked to review a book with the subtitle of Fashion, Fury, and Feminism—Women’s Fight for Change. Emmeline Pankhurst (née Goulden, 1858-1928) is best known for her militant tactics in organizing the United Kingdom’s suffragette movement and gaining the right to vote for (property-owning) women. She was not a birder or even a backyard feeder watcher. I could not help read more >>

A review by Carrie Laben Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird, by Katie Fallon Brandeis University Press, 2020 256 pages, softcover ABA Sales–Buteo Books 14711 One of my earliest bird-related memories is hanging out with a neighbor kid, lying on our backs on a picnic table, staring up at a blue summer sky. I must have been four or five, and he was a little bit older. Far above us, a Turkey Vulture tilted gently through the air. “Buzzard,” the other kid said, pointing up. “They eat chickens.” My family had chickens read more >>

With this book, Floyd emphatically proves that he is the best sort of gatekeeper—one who takes the gate right off the hinges so that everyone has equal access to the wealth of knowledge and richness of experience that lies beyond.

The wisdom to be gained from Browning’s story relates to a preoccupation confronted by many birders: Once we have acknowledged our love of birds and bird-study, what contribution can we make?

The Doyle compendium makes an excellent addition to the audio library of intermediate to advanced birders who wish to boost their knowledge of and expertise with rare and local birds specific to the Arizona borderlands and northern Sonora.

These books are very valuable additions to any bird library and essential companions should you visit these countries.

A successful novelist may be no better than the rest of us at finding and identifying birds, but we can expect him to write about these activities better than the rest of us.

Like his Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America, author Nathan Pieplow presents an impressively comprehensive overview of the sounds of over 500 western North American birds.

Whether you’re an experienced birder or just starting out, this book will be a valuable resource for your next Ontario birding adventure.

If you have any interest in dragonflies and damselflies, this book is a superb primer on the things that field guides don’t cover about this amazing group of beautiful and powerful creatures.

The 21 chapters of text encompass all of ornithology and address the obvious topics, covering the evolution of birds, anatomy and flight, physiology, brain structure, social behavior, genetics, the annual cycle, migration, courtship, vocalizations, nesting, population and community dynamics, and speciation.

Howell and Zufelt have undertaken a monumental task. Not only have they compiled a worthwhile collection of striking photographs of our global assortment of seabirds, they have also taken the time to wade through the most vexing taxonomy and put it all into a sensible, useful format.

Birds of the Pacific Northwest is a comprehensive field guide that all users can enjoy, from casual birders and backyard birders to hardcore enthusiasts. The details specific to the region make it a valuable resource to study at home, toss in a backpack, or keep in the car while on a birding trip.

Birdsong is one of the most enchanting aspects of avian behavior, and birders especially love the times of year when birds can’t help but sing from dawn until dusk and even through the night. The impulse to sing seems just as strong in two passionate birders who are also talented and prolific musicians.