Book Review
Birds of Washington State
ISBN: 1-55105-430-2
Authors: Brian H. Bell and George Kennedy
Publisher: Lone Pine Publishing
Is it a female tanager or a Wilson’s warbler? Gardeners who invite birds to their realms often want useful and quick ways to identify them, their habitats and food sources. Identifying unfamiliar species is exciting for backyard birders and gardeners. Birds of Washington State, a helpful reference for those who enjoy the birds in their havens, is a great choice for the backyard birder as well as the professional. The book is especially helpful in identifying the species in our location. Bird books with a larger regional focus are helpful too; however, there may be many similar species from other parts of the country, making it harder to identify the one that is in your own backyard.
Inside the pages of Birds of Washington State is a checklist of the 477 species of birds recorded within the boundaries of Washington State, having 320 birds catalogued with illustrations and detailed information. The book is divided into color coded family groupings of birds for ease of identification. In addition, the birds are divided into two sections—birds that are commonly known as songbirds or perching birds and nonpasserines that make up about 63 percent of known species in Washington state.
Not only is this book great for the backyard birder, it is a handy guide to learn about birds and where their habitats are in the state. There is a section for each bird, telling where the best places are to view them. Hopefully, for gardeners, the habitat they create for birds will be the best possible place to view them. Each listing tells the bird’s diet, habitat, nesting and even their voice. Birds of Washington State is a wonderful resource; it is the first book I reach for when I am looking up a new bird in the neighborhood.
Debbie Teashon
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By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton