The Backyard Birdwatcher's Bible: Birds, Behaviors, Habitats, Identification, Art & Other Home Crafts

by Paul Sterry, Christopher Perrins, Sonya Patel Ellis

An informative and eye-catching full-color reference book for backyard bird enthusiasts, The Backyard Birdwatcher’s Bible is beautiful enough to be a coffee table book and practical enough to be a guide for both beginner and expert birders alike.

Here, an elegant aesthetic is paired with practical tips on identifying, attracting, and caring for backyard birds, as well as crafting bird-friendly gardens and birdhouses. Did you know that the red-bellied woodpecker “is an opportunistic feeder, taking a wide range of invertebrates, seeds, and nuts, also fruits (it drinks from oranges) and sap”? Photographs include images of both males and females and maps explain the range of the species.

Packed with information and beautiful full-color photography and art, the authors offers a cornucopia of information:
Species profiles: how to identify species, their habitats, their diets, and their status.
Birdwatching for beginners: expert information about the life cycle of a bird, from hatchling to adult.
Information about birdsongs, details about territories and nests and eggs, and much more, including essential practical advice for birdwatchers in the field.
Creating a bird-friendly backyard: information on birdfeeders, breeding shelters, and flowers and shrubbery to plant in order to entice the winged visitors to visit and stay.
A lively lesson on birds in art: beautiful and educational, with classic and modern art, and photographs. From Audubon to Taiichiro Yoshida, who creates delicate metal work to create bird images, the art is inspiring.
This is the perfect gift for any birder, and one that birders will buy for themselves and refer to again and again.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Science, Birds, Reference, Animals

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2020

About the author

Paul Sterry has written and illustrated more than 50 books. Trained as a zoologist, Paul has been a wildlife photographer for over 20 years and regularly undertakes research expeditions.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. I would have appreciated more notes on behavior, works, factoids for the bird entries. But I'm happy to have read it.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great beginners reference.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a Christmas gift from a few years past, so I really hoped I'd like it. As an avid birder the subject matter is of interest to me, but I am also cursed with that pesky thing: preexisting knowledge by which to judge the contents of this book.

While on its core subjects (namely bird identification and equipment/techniques for birdwatching) I could find little to specifically fault, I noticed a few scientific inaccuracies throughout as well as a handful of typos, both speaking to a lack of thorough editing. The preamble about the evolutionary history of birds talking of a "Chicxulub Eruption" off the coast of "Honduras" raised my eyebrows, and the fact that the roll of species profiles in the next section did not have a single waterfowl (not a one!) was particularly shocking.

So as to give the book credit where it is due, I should note that the presentation is lovely, including the binding, the colors, and the choice of photographs and artwork for the color plates inside. For these, the section on the history of birds in art (interesting), and the instructions on making a bird-friendly back yard, there is a bit worth salvaging here even for a jaded curmudgeon like me.

In general I would rank this book as potentially useful for brand-new birders who don't yet know a lot about birds, but for nerds like me with many eBird checklists already under their belts, it should be skipped.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book and a wonderful resource. The first part of the book has a lot of information about birds themselves, including diagrams of the bird’s body, which I have never seen before. Every bird is covered in an encyclopedia style with all the information you would need. In the back of the book you have chapters about the bird friendly backyard, how to build a nest box. And more. There is information about birds breeding and then I was very surprised and excited to see a section dedicated to birds in art. Different artists and art they had done of birds was featured. This is a book I would love to own and I would recommend it to anybody that likes birds. It also has an additional resources section in the back which is very helpful. I checked this out of the library and I may check it out one or two more times and I may need to own it.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes::
This book is an inch and a half thick and heavy!! But every single photograph is breathtakingly beautiful, full page with striking colors.
We have many bird watch books and field guides but this is a work of art!
A section in the back on birds in art was equally as interesting and gorgeous
This is going on my to-own list after having it from the library for a month

[Maisie Iven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great beginner’s guide to birdwatching! Laid out in clear sections, I loved how much it slowed down and gave you the basics! A good gifting book, since it’s a reference text more than anything else!

[Hannah C · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of the crafts I have tried from the book have worked, and now I can used the bird pages to identify the little birds that come to eat my "fat balls" at the "bird cafe." The book is both pretty and useful, I love it

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

would make a great gift. this is the sort of book that one would refer to often.

[Jodi Geever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photos that encourage all birders

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to give for an avid bird watcher or gift to yourself if you are interested and just beginning to learn about birds. Beautiful pictures and great guides on where to find the birds.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book with beautiful pictures.

[Jason Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for beginners

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm Anastasia and I read too many books on birds.

"Hi Anastasia."

This is a birder's dream. Full of facts, migration patterns, feeder and birdhouse tips, I was frothing at the mouth. It is also a super nice book that looks way better than Tom Ford's useless brick on a coffee table.

5/5 stars.

[-Nomi- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book. Full of information and super helpful