This is a wonderful book. I just love it! It's not only a good reference book, but it's also a fun book just to pick up and read for bird facts.

Because it's arranged month by month, it needs not be read in a lineal fashion, but rather, it allows the book to be picked up at will for any relevant reading in each "bird season" or for any "bird episode".

I particularly favor songbirds so I like that this book centers on backyard birds - those I commonly see at our feeders and those I might be lucky enough to someday encounter for my small "life list".

For some reason, this book seems to anticipate all my questions and then answer them. As an example, I wondered why I saw a male cardinal with no feathers on its head. The answer was that it had bird mites (birds cannot preen their own heads) but will regrow its feather with the next molt. In the interim, it will not look as handsome to female cardinals. Poor fellow!

The author not only write a biweekly birding column and presents birding workshops, but she is talented enough to share her knowledge in a easy-to-read and humorous fashion.

This is an excellent book with clear photos, detailed bird descriptions, and new knowledge for any level of birder. I highly recommend it.

I know that theoretically this is a reference book, but I found it fun to read simply for pleasure and ended up reading through the entire book. ( )