Bird Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Avian Lives

by Mark E. Hauber, Tony Angell (Illustrator)

An hourly guide that follows twenty-four birds as they find food, mates, and safety from predators.
 
From morning to night and from the Antarctic to the equator, birds have busy days. In this short book, ornithologist Mark E. Hauber shows readers exactly how birds spend their time. Each chapter covers a single bird during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four different bird species from around the globe, from the tropics through the temperate zones to the polar regions. We encounter owls and nightjars hunting at night and kiwis and petrels finding their way in the dark. As the sun rises, we witness the beautiful songs of the “dawn chorus.” At eleven o’clock in the morning, we float alongside a common pochard, a duck resting with one eye open to avoid predators. At eight that evening, we spot a hawk swallowing bats whole, gorging on up to fifteen in rapid succession before retreating into the darkness.
 
For each chapter, award-winning artist Tony Angell has depicted these scenes with his signature pen and ink illustrations, which grow increasingly light and then dark as our bird day passes. Working closely together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Hauber and Angell have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two—and a true gift for readers, amateur scientists, and birdwatchers.

Genres: Birds, Nature, Nonfiction, Animals, Natural History, Science

168 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2023

Reviews

[Dallin Kohler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is extremely short and very much on the simplistic end. The illustrations were nice. It would be perfectly suited a 12 year old with a budding bird fascination. 3 stars.

[mahaha]

Heterospecific eavesdropping… crop milk…. sky goats… birds rule. The writing was so dull tho

[Rix · Rating 1 out of 5]

What's up with all the Zionist 'quick science' toilet books?

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

BIRD DAY: A STORY OF 24 HOURS AND 24 AVIAN LIVES by Mark E Hauber, will illustrations by Tony Angell is a relaxing and enjoyable book.

Beginning at 12 Midnight with the Barn Owl, Hauber relates a few interesting facts about the bird; just enough to entertain and inform. Each bird receives this treatment along with a pen and ink illustration depicting the bird accurately. Hauber gives us information about each one that covers a specific aspect of the chosen bird.

Hauber does not limit the birds to a set location, but presents birds from around the globe. Locations began with the bird found world-wide: surprisingly the Barn Owl. The birds chosen can be from different continents from Antarctica to North America, each bird in its unique habitat.I only knew some of the birds, the others were new to me.

This was a fun read.

[Anne Wi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird Day was an excellent read. Each hour of the day is represented by a specific bird. Bird Day followed birds from all over the World. I loved all of the information it gave on each bird in the few pages that were devoted to it. The information was pretty in depth as well. From habitat and eating habits all the way to how they raise (or don't, LOL) their young.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

banger. here are my favorite facts:
barn owls have different ear heights to hear subtle changes in their prey's location

kiwis are almost blind and use their nose to find food

oilbirds get their name because people would boil them for their fat and use it for cooking and lighting

nightingales only live 1-5 years :(

brown headed cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and get them to raise it. this causes FIGHTS if they're seen laying it or are near another bird's nest. females have a larger hippocampus so they can remember where potential nests are. they also will retaliate if a host bird removes their egg by destroying the host's eggs and make them have to start anew.

1500 flowers a day for bee hummingbirds to survive

"robins are robust egg rejecters" cowbird eggs

eclectus parrots kill their baby (usually male) in order for the female baby to survive in harder living conditions

peahens don't see uv like males do so what are they showing off for??

common pochards (ducks) do unihemispheric sleep where half their brain is asleep and the other half is awake and alert for predators.

superb starlings raise chicks as a group of parents

cuckoo females incubate their egg an extra day so they hatch earlier and the baby kicks out the other eggs from the nest

feral cats and rats were removed ( :( ) from little barrier island to protect cook's petrels and other native species from these invasive ones. and there's no more mammals on that island

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book, a quick, but interesting read in which the author gives short, brief summaries of 24 birds, one for each hour of the day. Starting with the midnight hunting Barn Owl, Hauber follows with the New Zealand Little Spotted Kiwi. The Kiwi is also out at night but in its case uses the darkness to help hide its activities using its blue-green plumage to hide in the grass.

Each of Hauber's hourly selections has its own interesting habits/abilities to allow it to best flourish at its specific time of day. Both the Brown-Headed Cowbird and the Common Cuckoo smuggle their eggs into another bird's nest to raise their young. The latter will retaliate vindictively if it finds the foster bird parent spotting and disposing of the Cuckoo's eggs. Of another interesting bird covered, the Indian Peafowl, the reader learns that the female is very discriminating in her mating, carefully selecting a mate with the best plumage and, before mating, inspects the candidate's cloacal area for signs of sexually transmitted diseases.

Hauber's 24 selections are all interesting in their own way. Read and enjoy.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really like the bird-for-each-hour-of-the-day gimmick, though I did enjoy reading about some unfamiliar feathered friends like the Ocellated Antbird and the Bat Hawk. I was very happy that the author spent so much time on the lowly cowbird and their "brood parasitic" tendencies of laying eggs in the nests of other birds. I got to see this in action just last week as I watched a tiny chipping sparrow run itself ragged to feed its insatiable cowbird baby, a fluffy giant that towered over its "parent." How sad that the sparrow will not be passing on its genes, yet it takes such good care of another's offspring.

Nature is indeed cruel, but pretty freakin' spectacular at the same time.

[Mimi V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small book packs a wallop of information. I am a bird lover and a birder, and this book provided some information on 24 birds from around the world, many of which I had not heard of. It was enough to pique my interest and require me to investigate many of the birds mentioned in the book. The illustrations are amazing! I love pen & ink and the illustrations show the birds, their usual environment and other things that give context (for instance, the bee hummingbird is shown with a bee, indicating their relative sizes.) The only improvement I would recommend is that the book be larger, to better appreciate the illustrations. I would even purchase and frame some illustrations if they were available. If you love birds or are curious about birds, I highly recommend this book.

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at an indie bookshop in Savannah, Ga., and thought it was so cute that I had to buy it. I love birds and have been a birder since I took an ornithology class as an elective in college decades ago. I love the whole look of this book: its small size, its shiny, tactile cover, its illustrated endsheets, its charming pen-and-ink drawings, and its old-fashioned, serif font. It is a fun, lively and fascinating book to read. Unfortunately, several passages are sad because climate change, habitat loss, invasive predators and sound pollution are decimating bird species around the globe. Books like this are needed to prod people into caring more about the natural world and acting to save it before parts of it are lost forever.

[Jerry Wall]

divides dy into 24 hours and walks about a single bird each other, birds from diff\erent part of the world.. Covers Barn owls to American Robin to oilbird Cowbird.
different birds, different countries, different eccentricsities

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short chapters of a bird each hour, succinct and fun facts. Beautiful ink drawings for each bird. I was just mislead about dimensions of actual book (5 x 4, thus the 3 page chapters are actually very brief).
Has extensive bibliography and good index.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 / 5.0

Larger format to enhance graphics and more elaboration on species represented would be wonderful.

[Lauren Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

For such a niche book, the information was basic and basically common knowledge... Disappointing

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a Sir David Attenborough nature special. And should probably become one.

[Kyri Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful. The text seemed to skim the surface a bit too much for me.

[Brenda]

Such an interesting concept! Always something to learn in the bird world.

[Betty-Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative book about different bird species.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short on detail, but the illustrations are pretty.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but readable coffee table type book, great illustrations

[Jess Fiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming little book with lots of great bird facts and lovely illustrations

[Kathleen J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kiwi illustration is my favorite :’)

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can be easily finished in under an hour. Great book for beginner or amateur bird enthusiasts.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting conceit, and I liked being able to learn a little bit about a bunch of different birds.