Eighty-four percent of the upland bird species in present-day bird counts along the Missouri River were included in bird species lists 150 years ago. Eighty-three percent of upland bird species in the Slim Buttes area also occurred 80 to 120 years ago. Historical photographs show native woodlands were part of the presettlement landscape. Expansion of the ranges of blue jays, common grackles, and eastern phoebes in western South Dakota can be attributed to tree plantings, cultivation, and urbanization rather than expanded native woodlands.

This book covers many of the different kinds of hummingbirds found in North America, and their life-cycle.