Hummingbirds of North America

We just wanted a book to teach us the basics about Hummingbirds & help us to learn one type from the next. This book is working out very well for us so far. Already we have learned that what appeared to be a 'baby' hummingbird with the naked eye, was actually a moth via binoculars and the moth was shown in the book~! The book is well made, very nice pictures, small enough to leave on a kitchen counter or drawer for easy access and user friendly. I recommend this book for anyone looking to learn about Hummingbirds.

As stated, it is difficult to go wrong with and of the Peterson Field Guides. This work is certainly no exception. Do be warned though, if you are a beginning birder, that NO field guide can meet all needs. This guide, like others, must be supplemented with as many different guides as possible. In this case, I might recommend Howell's wonderful work. That being said, you certainly need to add this one to your collection. This work covers the thirty or so species found in the U.S. along with several that may or may not be seen. The range maps are great, but again, another warning to the newcomer to this wonderful pastime. The range of many of birds found in the U.S. in changing, almost at a yearly rate. We can go on forever as to why this is occurring, but it never-the-less is. As the natural habitat of these amazing creatures is shrinking, so are the bird populations. The photographs in this book are a bit small and the quality is not what I would like, but the photographs are quite adequate, particularly if they are supplemented with other guides. The information found in the text is quite informative and accurate, as are the range maps, as far as we know (see above paragraph). There is much good information in this book concerning behavior, nesting habits and feeding patterns. This is certainly a book I would not want to be without when out in the field specifically looking for this particular family of birds. Recommend this one highly.

Excellent Guide to Hummingbirds! I bought the book for my sister's birthday. She loves it!

I've always thought that aliens visiting planet Earth would avoid the big geology that is the centerpiece of many of our national parks. All planets have spectacular geological features. Mars, for instance, has the largest (known) volcano in our solar system. Instead, the aliens would concentrate on life exclusive to Earth. Among these unique creatures must be the jewel-like hummingbirds. D.H. Lawrence writes of a world "where the humming-bird flashed ahead of creation" and "This little bit chipped off in brilliance...went whizzing through the slow, vast, succulent stems..." Do you remember when you saw your first hummingbird? One of my earliest memories, half-seen, half-heard, is of a buzzing emerald of a bird hovering in front of the flat cup of a hollyhock, flashing its iridescent feathers only inches from my face. After that, nothing could persuade me there was not magic in the world. Imagine yourself visiting this blue-and-green world and seeing a hummingbird for the first time. Well then, back to business. This Peterson Field Guide fulfills its promise to deep-dive into the world of North American hummingbirds. I was particularly interested in Rufous Hummingbirds because I thought I had seen one at our backyard feeder. Only three Rufous sightings have been verified in this state, so being able to record another would be quite a coup. According to this guide, it's not quite that easy. What I might have seen was a Ruby-Throat with pollen on her breast--or a hybrid Ruby-Throat. It's actually easier to verify the age and sex of a particular hummingbird than its species! Not only that, but hybridization between species is frequent--this book has photographs of "adult male Costa's x Anna's," "adult male Rufous x Calliope," "adult male Broad-tailed x Black-chinned" etc. etc. So, back to the deck until I can photograph my green hummingbird with the orange-gold gorget. Meanwhile, I've read this book from cover to cover. It is packed with fascinating text on the habitats, feeding, territoriality, communication, courtship and nesting (the latter is strictly up to the female), migration, and life spans of North American hummingbirds. Even without the photographs, it would have been an interesting read. With the photographs, this book is a gem. Most of the colored photos are included as aids to species (and hybrid) identification, but I think some were incorporated just for the sheer joy of viewing these little birds. The author, Sheri L. Williamson is one of North America's foremost experts on hummingbirds and has spent hundreds of hours in the field, observing and banding several thousand individuals of 16 species. The result is a book no hummingbird enthusiast will want to be without.

This book is wonderful!! I just finished reading it. I'd been waiting so long for a hummingbird book with photos of the females and the immature birds. In the past, I've had so much trouble looking through art drawings of hummingbirds. Now we have photos of each bird to help with identification in the field. This book is a must-have for hummingbird enthusiasts! Make sure to read the text too, because tons of fabulous facts and trivia are included. For instance, females of some species sing, and females outnumber the male hummers most of the time, but in one instance a female was killed and a male was seen feeding the babies she'd left behind! How interesting!