BACKYARD BIRDS
White-throated Sparrow

BIRDING BASICS:

  • Why bother with birds?
  • Birds as little dinosaurs
  • Who are your backyard birds?
  • Your mind can "jump" at birds
  • The art of using field marks
  • Bird listening
  • The art of bird stalking
  • "Pigeon-holing" your finds
  • The Life List
  • Getting involved
  • How to build a bluebird nest box

    • Bird Behavior

  • Birds know a different world
  • Programmed & learned behaviors
  • Imprinting
  • Birds with fantastic memories
  • Magnificent migration
  • Bird navigation
  • Bird behavior in our own backyards
  • Displays
  • Bird nests
  • Preening

    • The Physical Bird

  • The "Standard Bird"
  • Feathers
  • Seasonal plumage changes
  • Bird beaks
  • Bird eyes
  • Bird ears
  • Bird taste-buds and noses
  • Bird feet
  • Bird bones and muscles
  • Bird digestion and bird excretion
  • The bird song-box
  • Bird sex, and eggs
    • OTHER BIRDY THINGS:
  • A short story: Yellow Ribbon: One Year in the Life of a House Sparrow
  • A Sample Life History: The Song Sparrow
  • Birding in Mexico: Notes from one of Jim's birding trips through Mexico
  • Birding Fieldnotes: Excerpts from Jim's weekly Naturalist Newsletter