Become a better birder with brief portraits of 200 top North American birds. This friendly, relatable book is a celebration of the art, science, and delights of bird-watching.
TED FLOYD has written four books, most recently ABA Field Guide to Birds of Colorado, and more than 150 popular articles, technical papers, and book chapters on birds and natural history. He is the author of Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, published by HarperCollins in 2008, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Known widely within the birding community and recognized for both his birding acumen and his quirky intellect, Floyd is a frequent speaker at bird festivals and ornithological society meetings nationwide.
“Whether you have only just experienced your spark bird, have had a
decades-long burning passion for birds, or are somewhere in
between, How to Know the Birds is sure to fan the flames and leave
you feeling stoked about, to quote the author, the ability of birds
“to delight and surprise and amaze us.” –Birding Magazine
“Those of us who might feel intimidated by the competitiveness of
many bird watchers couldn’t ask for a warmer, kinder, more helpful
companion out in the field — carrying binoculars and a mobile
phone. Floyd is an avid Wi-Fi birder, with a helpful “urge
to eBird”; his is “a manifesto for the modern bird lover.”—The
New York Times
“Listeners who've been curious after bird sightings will find a
range of ways to dig deeper into birding.” –AudioFile Magazine, on
the recorded edition
“So after years of celebrated field guides, books that embody
“holism and experientialism” are coming to the fore. Mr. Floyd, for
instance, demystifies birding in a short-essay format that is
accessible and fun. Enlisting 200 species, he uses a single page of
text for each bird to make a point, or impart a truth, about
vocabulary, taxonomy, controversies, cutting-edge websites, common
abbreviations, vocalization, migration, puzzles of plumage and much
more. Still, he punctuates his pieces with the primal. Recall your
first sighting of any species, he writes: “It was, it still is, it
forever shall be, a part of who you are and what you’re all about.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Floyd challenges our reflexive dismissal of [robins] as ordinary
and unremarkable. And indeed, now that we know all they have been
through, their easy abundance seems all the more wonderful today.”
–The Washington Post
“After extensive discussions on the how and what of birding do we
get to the why. Floyd’s answer to that is among the best I’ve
heard: birds are “proclaiming that this world of ours is full of
wonder and beauty, still exhorting us to go out and drink it all
in…The mini lessons in [the book] whet the appetite for the
possibilities in birding. For newer, and maybe even some
not-so-new, birders, this could be a real eye-opener. For them,
this book should be required.” –The Birder’s Library
“These essays are captivating, shining with the author’s warmth,
teacherly patience, quiet expertise, and literary skill. Floyd’s
writing style draws the reader in, including us in his experiences
and observations, making the personal communal.” –10,000 Birds
“How to Know the Birds is a field guide like I’ve never seen
before…Ted Floyd solidifies his place as True Expert and personal
hero of mine, and I recommend this for any birder or nature lover.”
–Jonathanbluebirdmontgomery
“How to Know the Birds will help you delve deeper into the
intricacies of birds and birdwatching and answer a lot of the
questions kids come up with when observing birds.” –Just a Secular
Homeschooler
“…allowed me to appreciate birds more than I ever thought would be
possible for me…For a novice like myself, I enjoyed the
introductory section which talked about birds that I often see in
my back yard. As a technologist, the section of how technology
changed ornithology was especially fascinating.” –Man of La
Book
“Floyd’s writing is very accessible; straightforward, entertaining,
and educational at the same time. Each essay is short – one page
only. This is the kind of book you can pick up at leisure to read a
random essay, or read in chronological order throughout the year.”
–Mockingbird Hill Cottage
“The author’s enthusiasm shines throughout this whole book. He
perfectly captures the many joys of birdwatching.” –Doing Dewey
Decimal
“This is a delightful book to keep by your side for a quick read
when you have 5 or 10 minutes here or there.” –Broken Teepee
“I loved that this book was not a standard field guide.
It delves deeper into bird behavior and anecdotes about
birds. I found it much warmer and much more readable than a
traditional nature guide.” –View from the Birdhouse
“This is a book that should be savored over time more than read
straight through like a novel. It is formatted to take place
over a year.” –Based on a True Story
“Normal, well-adjusted people, people who will never be found
tramping through the Ramble on freezing-cold March mornings with
up-to-the-second app-fed information about a rumor of an early
migrating Eastern Phoebe, might, if pressed, supply even more
accurate words than ‘serious’ or ‘methodical’ to describe the
motley crowd to which Ted Floyd openly pledges fealty. How to Know
the Birds will please that crowd enormously - and it will serve as
a both field guide and meta field guide for the rest of us.” –Open
Letters Review
“Like the Petersonian original, this new How to Know the Birds is
illustrated with simple and appealing drawings, this time from the
pencil of N. John Schmitt. The cover is a tour de force of book
design, with words and image overlapped and intertwined—a perfect
evocation of what is inside, a wonderful text combining science,
art, and joy in a way sure to inspire any birder.” –Tucson
Audubon
"You can’t find a better guide to birds and birding than Ted Floyd.
This snappy, chatty book is a fascinating primer to both, and will
make you a much better, wiser birder." --Scott Weidensaul, author
of Living on the Wind
"What a delightful study of birds and birding, smart, witty,
engaging, and beautifully observed. If you love birds and
want to know them (and their devoted watchers) better, this book is
for you--to dip into and to revisit for the priceless rules of
thumb." --Jennifer Ackerman
“Birding is our most democratic way to connect to nature, because
birds are everywhere — from inner cities to the deepest wilderness.
Here’s a new take on birding certain to inspire people to connect
more deeply with the lives around them." —Richard Louv, author
of Last Child in the Woods, The Nature Principle and Vitamin N
"This is an introduction to 21st century birding, where digital
tools, global data sharing, and an acknowledgement of the dynamism
of a rapidly changing earth combine with good old fashioned love of
the birds. Ted Floyd teaches us that seeing the bird and checking
it off a list isn’t really the core pleasure of birding—it is
knowing the bird—its behavior, ecology, personality, and role
in the evolving human ecology of the Anthropocene, that is the true
pleasure of contemporary birding. Buy it for anyone you want to
fall in love with birds, or for yourself, so as to fall in love a
bit more."
–Emma Marris, author of Rambunctious Garden
“Birds—clearly the heroes in this engaging volume—have so much to
teach us about ourselves and our world. You’ll find your curiosity
and delight growing with each page.” –David Yarnold,
President and CEO of the National Audubon Society.
Ask a Question About this Product More... |