Beyond the Bird Feeder

If you want a technical guide to the size, coloration and other particulars of a specific bird species then it would be in your best interests to obtain one of the many American bird field guides that are available on this subject. However, if you are interested the habits of birds as they fit into the overall ecological scheme of nature without being overwhelmed by technical details then this is the book for you. John Dennis has written a highly readable book that reveals the lifestyles of birds as they interact with each other and the environment. In a series of essays Dennis covers such subjects as bird food preferences, migratory behavior, winter survival, competition, avian aggression and others. Dennis supports his points with his own personal observations as a lifelong biologist and birder, as well as those observations cited from birding books and journals spanning the 20th century. In addition, the 65 delightful pencil sketchings illustrating the avian behavior described in the text are worth the price of the book alone. I whole-heartedly recommend "Beyond the Bird Feeder" for any naturalist's bookshelf, particularly of those for whom birding may be a secondary interest. The book provides an excellent one-source overview of avian habits that may lead those so interested into other more technical treatments of this subject.