Hummingbirds, Jewels in Flight: Jewels in Flight (Wildlife) (Paperback)

~ Connie Toops (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

They can fly backwards, sideways, straight up and can hover like helicopters with an able maneuverability due to feather arrangement, internal wing structure and powerful flight muscles. Photojournalist Toops ( Great Smoky Mountains ) illustrates her comprehensive natural history of the hummingbird with 100 dazzling color photographs. Hummers are found only in the Western Hemisphere, with 21 species (of a total of more than 300) in North America. They live about five years, and their young leave the nest at three weeks of age; hummingbirds pollinate some 100 types of flowers (preferring red ones). Tracing the fall migration of a rubythroat from New York to Central America, Toops also reports on her own viewing in southeast Arizona, location of the largest concentration of hummers. She includes a discussion of artificial feeders and advice on landscaping to attract the birds, with lists of plants for each section of the country that will be welcomed by birders and gardeners alike.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...a truly beautiful book. Toops offers readers her personal perspective on our most exciting birds while presenting scientifically accurate information." -- Nature Society News

"...dazzling color photographs . . . will be welcomed by birders. . . ." -- Publishers Weekly

"Astonishing full-color photographs." -- Science News

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN) (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896583821
• ISBN-13: 978-0896583825
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,177,804 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reference of the life of hummer, great phots, September 5, 1999

By	Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an essential reference on the life of hummingbirds. Over 100 beautiful color photos show many species of these elegant birds eating, resting, & in mid-flight.

The book starts out with the author's personal experiences with hummingbirds. It then explains the birds' history, classification, distribution, & habitat, comparing the various types of hummingbirds. How they fly, what & how they eat, mating rituals & nest building are then detailed. Conservation, migration, tracking, & banding are covered as well. There even a whole section on hummingbird meccas.

Finally, the book gives tips on how to attract the birds. Types of plants that attract hummingbirds are listed for 6 different regions, with both common & Latin names. The bird types native to each region are also given.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answered all my hummingbird questions-and then some!, September 6, 2006

By	Sammy Madison (USA) - See all my reviews

With it's beautiful, extremely close-up color photos, this book about hummingbirds looks like a coffee table book. But I was very surprised and pleased upon reading the text that this is really a very serious book that will answer literally any hummingbird question you might have. Some of the questions I had about hummingbirds were: do hummingbirds eat anything but nectar? why do we only have ruby-throated hummingbirds east of the Rocky Mountains? how old do hummingbirds live to be? do all hummingbirds migrate? do male hummingbirds aid in raising the babies? do they migrate in flocks? Not only are all these questions and many more answered, there was a chapter about migration that started with a baby hummingbird born in northern New York state, and followed him to his winter home in Argentina. I was amazed at how quickly the tiny bird could make it from NY to VA, and then, the suspense of how he could possibly fly across the Gulf of Mexico- obviously no place to rest, and no food available. If, like me, you have had long unanswered questions about hummingbirds, this is the ideal book. I would think it would be great to read parts of this book and look at the beautiful pictures with older children, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!, August 8, 2009

By	34 builder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hummingbirds: Jewels in Flight (Hardcover)

This book is excellent!! Great condition. Prompt shipping. Couldn't have asked for more. Fascinating information and pictures. Better than expected!!