The Hummingbird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds

by Donald W. Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes

Attract amazing hummingbirds to your backyard! With this comprehensive, beautifully illustrated guide, you'll find it easy to attract these tiny jewel-like birds to your own yard.
With this comprehensive, beautifully illustrated guide, you'll find it easy to attract these tiny, jewel-like birds to your own yard. The Stokes Hummingbird Book provides all the information you need to bring hummingbirds up close, identify them, and understand their fascinating and varied behavior.
The book

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

89 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 1989

About the author

Donald W. Stokes and Lillian Q. Stokes are widely recognized as America's foremost authorities on birds and nature. Their books include the bestselling Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the Stokes Field Guide to Birds, the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds, the Stokes Nature Guides, and the Stokes Backyard Nature Books. They live in New Hampshire and Florida.

Reviews

[T. Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handy and interesting book about Hummingbirds!

Although I feel the information could have been better organized, this book is chocked full of handy facts. There was quite a bit of information about other birds who hang around the same territory as hummers. I learned some very interesting things from reading this book.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the last three years, I had began to notice a bird that was consistently sitting at the top of one of the trees in our yard. It took me awhile to realize that it was a hummingbird and that it was the same bird season in and season out. It was only last year during the quarantine that I had more time to watch the hummingbird. It became completely apparent that he lived year round in our yard.

Stan, as we have named him, has been a delight to watch and I got this book to learn more about him. This is a good reference book that confirmed a number of things I suspected about our dear friend. If you are interested in learning more about these fascinating creatures, I would recommend it. Especially helpful is the large list of plants that attract hummingbirds - many of which we plan to get.

2020 was a year of hardship, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity to become more aware of Stan. He’s been an incredible reminder of the good in the world.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright 1989 but still mostly relevant. The section on photography talks about what film to use and the resources for feeders, supplies etc listed in the back do not include websites.

I learned there are 16 different hummingbird species in North America. Sadly, only one of them ever comes to my neck of the woods. (The ruby throated) Makes identification easy, but we miss out on some beauties.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though the book is a little outdated (1989), it's still a great overview of hummingbirds. I wouldn't mind reading a current hummingbird guide - wondering if the advancement in GPS tracking, digital databases and photography would provide more accurate information.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reference

Not many pages (for the big price), but packed with excellent information and great photos for identifying the different types

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is full of useful facts related to hummingbirds and their habitats. Beautiful pictures. It is a good basic reference book. It focuses on a few of the species in the Unites States.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poorly written!

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned some fascinating stuff about hummingbirds. a few highlights:

* Hummingbirds have the largest known relative heart size of all birds
* A hummingbird can consume half its weight in sugar each day
* A hummingbird can fly at 45 mph and can go forward, backward, or upside down
* One type of hummingbird migrates 3,000 miles each year.
* Hummingbirds are fierce little creatures
* When they're really tired, hummingbirds go into a state of torpor, where they seem to be dead
* (my favorite) They make their nests out of downy fibers and plant material, which they tie together with spider silk

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about hummingbirds. It has great information on how to feed them, where to place feeders, how to attract them, as well as a lot of things I didn't know already. The pictures are great (actual color photos) and show many different kinds of hummingbirds, their nests, and babies. I read the whole thing in about an hour or so and I just love looking at all the beautiful photos.

[Tony Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library as a resource for learning a little more about hummingbirds... those fascinating little wisps of birds that frequent my feeder throughout the day.

The book is full of useful illustrations and photographs, as well as facts and lists related to hummingbirds and their habitats. It is a good basic reference books, but does not delve very much into the many species of hummingbirds found around the world.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, basic information. General for the entire US, not specific to any region.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worked like a charm; my place is Hummingbird Central.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic introduction and some good photographs.