Look around New York, and you'll probably see birds: wood ducks swimming in Queens, a stalking black-crowned night-heron in Brooklyn, great horned owls perching in the Bronx, warblers feeding in Central Park, or Staten Island's purple martins flying to and fro. You might spot hawks and falcons nesting on skyscrapers or robins belting out songs from trees along the street.
America's largest metropolis teems with birdlife in part because it sits within the great Atlantic flyway where migratory birds travel seasonally between north and south. The Big Apple's miles of coastline, magnificent parks, and millions of trees attract dozens of migrating species every year and are also home year-round to scores of resident birds.
There is no better way to identify and learn about New York's birds than with this comprehensive field guide from New York City naturalist Leslie Day. Her book will quickly teach you what each species looks like, where they build their nests, what they eat, the sounds of their songs, what time of year they appear in the city, the shapes and colors of their eggs, and where in the five boroughs you can find them – which is often in the neighborhood you call home. The hundreds of stunning photographs by Beth Bergman and gorgeous illustrations by Trudy Smoke will help you identify the ninety avian species commonly seen in New York. Once you enter the world of the city's birds, life in the great metropolis will never look the same.
Watch a trailer below:
Leslie Day is a New York City naturalist and the author of Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City and Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City, also published by Johns Hopkins. Dr. Day taught environmental science and biology for more than twenty years. Today, she leads nature tours in New York City Parks for the New York Historical Society, the High Line Park, Fort Tryon Park Trust, Riverside Park Conservancy, and New York City Audubon.
Trudy Smoke is a professor of linguistics and rhetoric at Hunter College, City University of New York and a nature illustrator. She is the illustrator of Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City.
Beth Bergman is a photographer for the Metropolitan Opera who moonlights as a nature photographer. Her photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Opera News, and Paris Match.
"'Take this guide wherever you go,' [Day] implores readers in the introduction. And we hope many do, since it reveals a New York we long to see, the wild, beautiful city of birds known to Audubon, Chapman, and Griscom."
– Chuck Hagner – BirdWatching Magazine
"Leslie Day provides a visually arresting and fascinating introduction to our city's most common birds, including details on behavior and ecology not found in typical field guides. Sections covering New York City birding spots as well as birding and conservation organizations will serve to connect readers to the rich birdlife and habitats of the city's five boroughs."
– Susan B. Elbin, PhD, Director of Conservation and Science, New York City Audubon
"Visually beautiful, Leslie Day's Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City manages to be clear and concise while including lesser-known salient features of each bird. With this book in hand, you will know where to go to see the woodcock's hunting dance or hear the ruby-throat's call."
– Rita McMahon, Director, Wild Bird Fund
"Leslie Day has compiled this long-awaited and superb book filled with stunning illustrations, photographs, and concise information. This welcome anthology of species that harmoniously coexist in our urban environment will be cherished by and is a must-have for anyone interested in the diverse avian community of New York City."
– Anthony A. Pilny, DVM, The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine
"An excellent guide for New York City residents. If you have any interest in the birds around you (and there are plenty of birds around you, even in NYC), this guide will really open your eyes."
– Birder's Library
"Day's deeply researched and richly illustrated Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City will be indispensable to locals and tourists alike."
– Sierra
"You don't have to live in or be visiting New York to enjoy this book."
– Times Literary Supplement
"These three fabulous New York women have been to every park in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx, seeking out their feathered material. Their pooled talents have yielded a field guide that runs from Double-Crested Cormorants to Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, revealing the richness of diversity in the lives of our fellow New Yorkers from the natural world."
– Huffington Post
"Overall, this guide is not just a source of information, but fosters an appreciation for the wildlife that surrounds us every day."
– American Reference Books Annual