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Hummingbirds: Their Life and Behavior - A Photographic Study of the North American Species
Robert Tyrrell, the world's foremost photographer of hummingbirds, has successfully captured on film the utterly fascinating day-to-day activities of our colorful North American species. Included among the 235 full-color pictures are never-before-photographed sequences such as nesting, molting, preening and territorial aggression, as well as an unprecedented portfolio of hummingbirds feeding from wildflowers.
Esther Tyrrell has written the accompanying illuminating text, by far the most complete and up-to-date information on hummingbirds ever assembled, which will make this book the definitive source for both scientists and the general reader for years to come.
This lavishly illustrated volume opens with an introduction to this lovely family of
Esther Tyrrell has written the accompanying illuminating text, by far the most complete and up-to-date information on hummingbirds ever assembled, which will make this book the definitive source for both scientists and the general reader for years to come.
This lavishly illustrated volume opens with an introduction to this lovely family of
- GenresBirdsNatureNonfiction
212 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 1985
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 29, 2020
This book was ordered almost by accident. I was looking for books about hummingbirds, and found the same author's second book, which was described by GR as the perfect companion to this book. So of course I decided to order this book too! (Used, of course: I very rarely buy brand new books.)
The book is over-sized, and since I have one empty shelf left in my bookcases, I thought I would begin filling it with the books that I won't be able to stuff into gaps on other shelves. Sometimes planning ahead is very important! lol
Anyway, this is a gorgeous book. The pictures are simply stunning. I cannot imagine the patience and more patience that it must have taken to capture all of these images. Just incredible!
At the time this book was produced (copyright 1985) there were no other books with detailed and verified-through-observation facts about these amazing little birds. So we have chapters here about their anatomy (broken down into sections and with line drawings to illustrate what the author is talking about), feathers, flight, courtship and nesting, food and metabolism, behavior, and wildflower pollination. Pretty much everything you might want to know about a hummingbird is here!
And although I confess to skimming some of the more scientific-minded pages, the writing throughout is clear and easily understood.
I have had hummers around my whole life I remember when I was little my brother and I would climb up into a tree in our front yard and sit quietly watching a mother hummingbird on her nest. She didn't mind us being there, maybe because my dad had wired a small bottle of sugar water close to her branch so that she wouldn't have to go far for a meal.
Here at the house where I now live my Mom used to put out feeders and Dad loved to watch the hummingbirds come to feed. He always kept an eye out for the Rufous variety, which would arrive every year and take over everything for a few weeks. He liked them the best, not because of their ferocity but because they were so pretty, glistening orange red all over so that he could see them easily.
When I lived in Mexico we had many hummingbirds in the garden. They loved the flowers on the orange and royal lemon trees. My husband called them colibri (coalee-BREE), and it was considered good luck to have them around the house. One day I saw a type that I did not recognize. When I investigated I found it was a White-Eared variety, which lives from southeastern Arizona to Central America. It was the first I had ever seen, so now I think of it as my special Mexican hummer. There were many pictures of this species in this book, and I was thrilled to see 'my' bird again.
Lovely book, well worth the shelf space. And I am heading off now with the same authors to meet the Hummingbirds Of The Caribbean.
The book is over-sized, and since I have one empty shelf left in my bookcases, I thought I would begin filling it with the books that I won't be able to stuff into gaps on other shelves. Sometimes planning ahead is very important! lol
Anyway, this is a gorgeous book. The pictures are simply stunning. I cannot imagine the patience and more patience that it must have taken to capture all of these images. Just incredible!
At the time this book was produced (copyright 1985) there were no other books with detailed and verified-through-observation facts about these amazing little birds. So we have chapters here about their anatomy (broken down into sections and with line drawings to illustrate what the author is talking about), feathers, flight, courtship and nesting, food and metabolism, behavior, and wildflower pollination. Pretty much everything you might want to know about a hummingbird is here!
And although I confess to skimming some of the more scientific-minded pages, the writing throughout is clear and easily understood.
I have had hummers around my whole life I remember when I was little my brother and I would climb up into a tree in our front yard and sit quietly watching a mother hummingbird on her nest. She didn't mind us being there, maybe because my dad had wired a small bottle of sugar water close to her branch so that she wouldn't have to go far for a meal.
Here at the house where I now live my Mom used to put out feeders and Dad loved to watch the hummingbirds come to feed. He always kept an eye out for the Rufous variety, which would arrive every year and take over everything for a few weeks. He liked them the best, not because of their ferocity but because they were so pretty, glistening orange red all over so that he could see them easily.
When I lived in Mexico we had many hummingbirds in the garden. They loved the flowers on the orange and royal lemon trees. My husband called them colibri (coalee-BREE), and it was considered good luck to have them around the house. One day I saw a type that I did not recognize. When I investigated I found it was a White-Eared variety, which lives from southeastern Arizona to Central America. It was the first I had ever seen, so now I think of it as my special Mexican hummer. There were many pictures of this species in this book, and I was thrilled to see 'my' bird again.
Lovely book, well worth the shelf space. And I am heading off now with the same authors to meet the Hummingbirds Of The Caribbean.
November 15, 2021
i don’t usually read nonfiction and i’ll be honest i mainly skimmed through this and looked at the pictures and interesting bits but i love hummingbirds so much and they r so fascinating. i miss watching my backyard birds and this book has temporarily filled that hole in my heart
August 4, 2023
A fantastic, colorful book about all species of hummingbirds that are native or migrate to the United States. I just love hummingbirds and they are so important to the ecosystem as pollinators. There was also a good section about hummingbird gardens and how to help them. I am definitely doing that!
Plus the conservation efforts to save the species was good throughout the book.
Definitely a recommended book about a fastidious little worker!
Plus the conservation efforts to save the species was good throughout the book.
Definitely a recommended book about a fastidious little worker!
September 18, 2021
Beautiful book filled with photos of male, female and juvenile birds that make it easier to identify the different species of hummingbirds. The life facts are fascinating!
December 12, 2016
Fascinating look at the physiology of the most intriguing of birds--and, of course, the photos are stunning.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews