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From our own back gardens to the rim of the Arctic ice, countless birds have adapted to meet the challenges of the winter season in North America. This is their remarkable story, told by award-winning birder and acclaimed writer Pete Dunne, accompanied by illustrations from renowned artist and birder David Sibley.
Despite the seasonal life-sapping cold, birds have evolved strategies that meet winter's vicissitudes head-on, driven by the imperative to make it to spring and pass down their genes to the next generation. The drama of winter and the resilience and adaptability of birds witnessed in the harsher months of the calendar is both fascinating and astonishing.
In The Courage of Birds, Pete Dunne – winner of the American Birding Association's Roger Tory Peterson Award for lifetime achievement in promoting the cause of birding – chronicles the behaviour of the birds of North America. He expertly explores widespread adaptations, such as feathers that protect against the cold, and unpacks the unique migration patterns and survival strategies of individual species. Dunne also addresses the impact of changing climatic conditions on avian longevity and recounts personal anecdotes that soar with a naturalist's gimlet eye.
Filled with unforgettable facts, wit and moving observations on the natural world, Dunne's book is for everyone; from the serious birder who tracks migration patterns, to the casual birder who logs daily reports on eBird, to the observer who throws a handful of seed into the garden and wonders what birds will magically appear when temperatures begin to fall.
Pete Dunne is an author and founder of the World Series of Birding, former Director of Natural History Information for the New Jersey Audubon Society, and former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory. An experienced tour leader, he is well-known for his columns and contributions to publications such as American Birds and Birding. He is also the author of more than twenty books, including Birds of Prey, Gulls Simplified, The Art of Pishing, The Wind Masters, and, most recently, The Shorebirds of North America.
David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of several successful nature guides, including The Sibley Guide to Birds. He has contributed to Smithsonian, Science, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Birding, BirdWatching, North American Birds, and the New York Times. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Birding Association and the Linnaean Society of New York's Eisenmann Medal.
