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Both casual and serious birdwatchers can take their skills to the next level with this detailed consideration of bird behaviour. Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior makes it possible to move beyond identifying birds to understanding some of the underpinning and meaning to what birds do, how they do it, and why they do it. Written in an easy-to-understand style, with an abundance of photos illustrating the behaviours, the book shows how flight, molt, migration, feeding, predation, social behaviour, courtship, and nesting shape birds' behaviours. Birds are everywhere, and easy to observe; this introduction to elements of bird behaviour will connect readers more intimately with these remarkable and beguilingly perceptive animals.
John Kricher is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Wheaton College, Norton, where, for 48 years, he taught ecology, ornithology, and vertebrate evolution. His most recent book is The New Neotropical Companion (2017). John has also written Tropical Ecology (Princeton University Press 2011), now the leading textbook on global tropical ecology. Among his other books are The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth (Princeton University Press 2009); Galapagos: A Natural History (Princeton University Press 2006); and A Field Guide to Eastern Forests (Houghon Mifflin 1988). John is a Fellow in the American Ornithologists Union and is past-president of the Association of Field Ornithologists, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and Nuttall Ornithological Club. He has served on the board of the American Birding Association.
"[...] Bird behavior is an endlessly fascinating topic, and Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior is an excellent overview of the subject, with certain caveats. This should be one of the first books that North American birders read after learning the basics of bird identification and the craft of birding. What you learn here will greatly increase your appreciation for the birds you are watching. Those outside this region could also benefit from it, especially if you’d like to get a feel for the behavior of North American birds. But if you’d rather something more general in scope, or a book that includes “your” birds, then you should look elsewhere."
– Grant McCreary (18-02-2021), read the full review at The Birder's Library
