Birds

"This is a true story of two unusual individuals: County, a robin who chooses to share her life with a human, and Linda Johns, an artist, who was happy to accommodate her. Through the pages of this book, the reader shares the mysterious realm of an intelligent and responsive creature of the wind."

"In celebration of the centennial of Roger Tory Peterson's birth comes a historic collaboration among renowned birding experts and artists to preserve and enhance the Peterson legacy. This new book combines the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds and the Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds in one volume, filled with accessible, concise information and including almost three hours of video podcasts to make bird watching even easier."

"Journey with Christopher Cokinos to a time when flocks of Passenger Pigeons blocked the sun and Carolina Parakeets colored the sky--according to one pioneer--'like an atmosphere of gems.' Driven by a desire to understand the lives of these now-extinct birds and how and why they vanished, Cokinos excavates crumbling newspapers and forgotten reports. From Bird Rock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Louisiana's tangled bayous, he searches for those who loved the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Labrador Duck; for the people who stalked the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the Heath Hen, and the Great Auk; and for those who tried to save them. A compelling blend of science, history, politics, and memoir, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers draws on previously unpublished photographs and original documents to make these long-vanished birds come alive. Cokinos delves into the mysterious sighting of Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers in April 1999; the incredible plan to create new Heath Hens on Martha's Vineyard; and the astonishing possibility that these extinct birds could be resurrected through the science of cloning."

Here is an environmental detective story. In the early 1960s, game wardens on Guam noticed a decline in the bird population. In 1980, biologist Julie Savidge was hired to solve the mystery and save the birds. When her research named the prime suspect few people believed her. This is the story of her hunt for evidence. It will make you worry about every plane that lands at Dulles.