Written for a general audience, with spectacular images for birders and nature enthusiasts at every level, Hummingbirds of Texas: With Their New Mexico and Arizona Ranges reveals the enormous appeal of this tiniest and shiniest of birds. The book opens with a look at the many manifestations of the human attraction to these flying jewels, including the Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen-science project run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as the Rockport Fulton Hummer/Bird Celebration, one of several festivals dedicated to hummingbirds. The book also includes easy tips for attracting hummingbirds to your own lawn or garden, such as what to plant in the ground or in pots and how to choose and take care of feeders. The authors then showcase the nineteen different hummingbird species that have appeared in the region covered by the book. Magnificent color photographs and original artwork aid in identification and accompany descriptions, range maps, and abundance graphs for each species.

Written for a general audience, with spectacular images for birders and nature enthusiasts at every level, Hummingbirds of Texas reveals the enormous appeal of this tiniest and shiniest of birds. The book opens with a look at the many manifestations of the human attraction to these flying jewels. • The Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen-science project run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has recruited hundreds of people to feed hummingbirds and record their activities throughout the state.• The Rockport–Fulton Hummer/Bird Celebration, one of several festivals dedicated to hummingbirds, draws thousands of people each fall to the Texas coast where birds gather in huge numbers before migrating south.• Bird-loving landowners invite the public to enjoy hummingbirds that live and breed on their ranches.• Tips make attracting hummingbirds to your own lawn or garden easy, such as what to plant in the ground or in pots and how to choose and take care of feeders. The authors then showcase the nineteen different hummingbird species that have appeared in the region covered by the book. Magnificent color photographs and original artwork aid in identification and accompany descriptions, range maps, and abundance graphs for each species. Birds featured:Allen's Hummingbird • Anna's Hummingbird • Berylline HummingbirdBlack-chinned Hummingbird • Blue-throated HummingbirdBroad-billed Hummingbird • Broad-tailed Hummingbird • Buff-belliedHummingbird • Calliope Hummingbird • Costa's HummingbirdGreen-breasted Mango • Green Violet-ear • Lucifer HummingbirdMagnificent Hummingbird • Plain-capped Starthroat • Ruby-throatedHummingbird • Rufous Hummingbird • Violet-crowned HummingbirdWhite-eared Hummingbird

Covering 31 North American species, with more than 250 color photos and 33 maps, this is the most comprehensive field guide to hummingbirds. Introductory chapters cover the natural history of hummingbirds, ways to attract and feed them, and major hot spots in the United States and Canada for observing these fascinating birds. The 31 color plates illustrate 28 species, 7 hybrid combinations, 3 forms of albinism, and 4 species of sphinx moths often mistaken for hummingbirds. Species accounts provide in-depth information on plumage, molt, songs and calls, wing sounds, similar species, behavior, habitat, distribution, taxonomy, and conservation concerns. Detailed range maps show breeding, non-breeding, and year-round distribution, migration routes, and records outside expected areas of occurrence.

In this invitingly-written book, June Osborne paints a fully detailed portrait of perhaps the best-known hummingbird in the United States, the ruby-throat. There is no mistaking a hummingbird. Even people who hardly know a robin from a sparrow recognize that flash of iridescent feathers and the distinctive hovering flight. So popular have “hummers” become that even casual birdwatchers now travel great distances to hummingbird hot spots to see masses of birds in their annual migrations. Drawing from her own birdwatching experiences, June Osborne offers an “up close and personal” look at a female ruby-throat building her nest and rearing young, as well as an account of a day in the life of a male ruby-throat and stories of the hummers’ migrations between their summer breeding grounds in the United States and Canada and their winter homes in Mexico and Central America. In addition to this life history, Osborne recounts early hummingbird sightings and tells how the bird received its common and scientific names. After an overview of hummingbirds’ distinctive ways of feeding, flying, and conserving energy, she offers a detailed description of the ruby-throat that will help you tell females from males, immature birds from adults, and ruby-throats from similar species. Osborne also takes you on a visit to the “Hummer/Bird Celebration!” at Rockport, reviews hummingbird banding programs, and explains how to attract hummingbirds to your yard or apartment balcony.

A fully illustrated guide, keyed state by state, to all 16 species of North American hummers, including all of their personal quirks and habits.

In Do Hummingbirds Hum? George C. West, who has studied and banded over 13,500 hummingbirds in Arizona, and Carol A. Butler provide an overview of hummingbird biology for the general reader, and more detailed discussions of their morphology and behavior for those who want to fly beyond the basics.