1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hummingbird Secrets, May 1, 2010
This review is from: Do Hummingbirds Hum?: Do Hummingbirds Hum? Fascinating Answers to Questions about Hummingbirds (Animals Q&A) (Paperback)
"Do Hummingbirds Hum?" is a wealth of information for the lay person, yet technical enough for the more knowledgeable bird enthusiast. This book has greatly enhanced our back porch experience as we have learned how truly amazing these little creatures are. It is a wonderful reference tool that we keep in easy reach with the rest of our birding guides. This book also makes an excellent gift - especially when given with a hummingbird feeder.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful, November 27, 2011
This review is from: Do Hummingbirds Hum?: Do Hummingbirds Hum? Fascinating Answers to Questions about Hummingbirds (Animals Q&A) (Paperback)
This little book by Dr. West and Dr. Butler is the most complete description of the facts about hummingbirds I have personally read. It is quite accessible to any reader, regardless of prior knowledge or experience. I acquired my copy directly from Dr. West, and he graciously autographed it for me. Once I started reading it, I could hardly put it down. He starts with some general questions, and rapidly gets into descriptions of their bodies, senses, and capabilities. This is absolutely fascinating, and a person cannot help but come away with the impression that this tiny bird's body is one of the most striking and astonishing examples of engineering of life ever known. Every part of the body and each of the senses is perfectly adapted to the task it must perform, with no wasted features, and the solutions to the problems of the hummingbird's needs are elegant and unique. Hummingbird solutions are also quite different from the solutions exhibited by other birds. The book talks about research people have done, to observe various specifics about hummingbird anatomy and behavior. It talks about their wonderful feathers, and where they get their color. It talks about the motion of their wings, and why they are able to move in just about any direction in flight and to hover.
Hummingbirds are native to the Americas. There is a large number of species that live in Latin America only, beautiful birds, that I would love to see personally. Dr. West is not only very knowledgeable about birds, but he is also an artist. A few of his drawings and photographs are published in the book, along with photos by other people. I hope at some point he will publish a larger collection of both drawings and photos. When I visited with him, he showed me six computer drawings he had done of some South American species, and they look totally realistic, down to the very individual strands of the body feathers.
The book gets into one very controversial topic: evolution. It doesn't say a lot about it, and it would make sense that since the book consists of questions and answers, questions about evolution would be entertained. I was a little uncomfortable with the one section and the occasional remarks, but one thing I feel is a real strength is the fact that the authors cite specific individuals who have proposed various explanations and views, by name, since it is pretty well known there is often disagreement among evolutionists on many of these topics. While the bulk of the book arises because of personal observations and experiences of various researchers, the section on evolution is about a topic which is once removed from personal observation. We all need to exercise a bit of willingness to appreciate some of the uncertainty of this topic.
The book finishes by giving some very useful and practical information about how to attract hummingbirds, about a couple of known diseases, and about bird banding, which is something Dr. West has done personally, for many birds. The excellent appendices include a list of plants that attract hummingbirds, references, organizations that help hummingbird watchers, reading and web sites, and places that are excellent for finding and seeing hummingbirds.
If you like hummingbirds, this book is for you! I will leave it to you to find the answer to whether hummingbirds hum, within.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let Me Simply Add...., December 18, 2010
This review is from: Do Hummingbirds Hum?: Do Hummingbirds Hum? Fascinating Answers to Questions about Hummingbirds (Animals Q&A) (Paperback)
The authors of this gem already quoted from a review I wrote (see above). Let me simply add that I wish I'd had this book when I produced our "Hooked on Hummingbirds" DVD, and it certainly will serve as a valuable resource when I create our next hummer program. As I am writing this one week before Christmas, 2010, I highly recommend that those who, like me, are last-minute holiday shoppers, get this book for the nature lovers among your family and friends. But it most certainly would make a great gift any time of year -- especially for your favorite hum-nut.
Tom Kaminski
Avian Video Center
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