The Wonderful World of Birds - How to Make Friends With Our Feathered Friends Table of Contents Introduction Knowing More about the Birds around You – Fun Facts of the More Common Bird Species Blackbirds Sparrows Hawks Cranes Goldfinch Ducks Blue Jays Chickadees Egrets Vultures Falcons Gulls Finches Owls The Territorial Rights of Birds How to Make Bird Houses Different Styles of Bird Houses Special Birdhouse Plans for Different Bird Species Taking Care of Your Bird Pets Feeding Your Feathered Friends Starting A Bird Watching Club Conclusion Introduction Did you know that some of the birds which people believed would never ever be extinct because they were so numerous have disappeared in the 20th and the 21st century? The last passenger pigeon, which once covered the skies of North America, died in captivity in 1904. In the same manner, it took just five years to kill off all the vultures, the Kites, the Eagles and the house sparrow (Passer Domesticus) and many other birds once common in cities, in parts of the Indian subcontinent. Blame it all on pesticides and also humans encroaching the natural habitats of birds. So why should you be interested in the wonderful world of birds, you may ask? Well, it is a well-known fact that a number of bird species are disappearing from the face of the earth, just like the Great Auk and the dodo at the rate of 10- 25 per year. So what, you may say, after all, there are so many other birds to choose from. Just calculate. 25 species going extinct per year, never to make their appearance on earth again. At this rate, we are not going to see a living bird in the next 50 to 75 years. That is reality. There may come a generation, which may ask its grandparents, “what were those silly little creatures, you called birds? We can just hear their songs on audio. What were they like to look at?” And the grandparents trying desperately to describe the magic world of birds. Imagine a world without nightingales singing in Berkeley Square, bluebirds flying over the white cliffs of Dover, peacocks in purple adorning and other such songbirds disappearing from your windowsill, garden and lives. Imagine no bird nesting in your garden or waking you up to birdsong, bright and early in the morning. So if you begin to take an interest in birds, there is a chance that you may want to help save them and your children might grow up to be keen ornithologists.

A playful picture book with a powerful message from a national storyteller. With each bird desperate to prove himself superior to the others, can little Quail break the cycle with an act of kindness?

Journey through the forest with Huxley and Bluebird, and introduce your toddlers to the idea of friendship and sharing with others. Meet Huxley, the lovable and rather hungry bear. It is beginning to snow, which means it is almost time to hibernate. So Huxley, Bluebird, and their friends must set out to collect food to get them through the Winter. But Huxley is really hungry, and wants all the food to himself. Is there enough food for everyone? Follow Huxley and Bluebird on their adventure through the freezing forest to collect food for hibernation. With stunning illustrations by renowned artist Jonny Lambert, and an enchanting story, this picture book is perfect for adults and toddlers to share together. Huxley and the Bluebird teaches little ones vital life lessons about friendship and sharing with others, and gently introduces them to the idea of hibernation as well. So come and join the search with this magical bedtime story.

"In this elegant narrative, celebrated naturalist Ted Floyd guides you through a year of becoming a better birder. Choosing 200 top avian species to teach key lessons, Floyd introduces a new, holistic approach to bird watching and shows how to use the tools of the 21st century to appreciate the natural world we inhabit together whether city, country or suburbs." -- From book jacket.

To make a bird, you'll need hundreds of tiny, hollow bones, so light you can barely feel them on your palm, so light they can float on air. Next you'll need feathers, for warmth and lift. There will be more besides - perhaps shells and stones for last touches - but what will finally make your bird tremble with dreams of open sky and soaring flight? This picture book shows how even the smallest of things, combined with wonder and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.

“Crows and people share similar traits and social strategies. To a surprising extent, to know the crow is to know ourselves.”—from the Preface From the cave walls at Lascaux to the last painting by Van Gogh, from the works of Shakespeare to those of Mark Twain, there is clear evidence that crows and ravens influence human culture. Yet this influence is not unidirectional, say the authors of this fascinating book: people profoundly influence crow culture, ecology, and evolution as well. John Marzluff and Tony Angell examine the often surprising ways that crows and humans interact. The authors contend that those interactions reflect a process of “cultural coevolution.” They offer a challenging new view of the human-crow dynamic—a view that may change our thinking not only about crows but also about ourselves. Featuring more than 100 original drawings, the book takes a close look at the influences people have had on the lives of crows throughout history and at the significant ways crows have altered human lives. In the Company of Crows and Ravens illuminates the entwined histories of crows and people and concludes with an intriguing discussion of the crow-human relationship and how our attitudes toward crows may affect our cultural trajectory.