A Californian’s Guide to the Birds Among Us

As its sister title, A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us, did for arboreal varieties, this new guidebook introduces casual birders to 120 of California’s most easily seen bird species--native and exotic alike--as found in a mix of urban, suburban, and traditionally natural habitats.

Full-color images and clear, direct descriptions make identification easy, and author Charles Hood supplements the essential information with surprising facts and trivia, including endangered-species recovery stories and the world record for grasshoppers eaten by one flycatcher in a single day. In sections addressing which gear to buy, where to go birdwatching, and how to read a birdsong transcription, Hood encourages readers to take ownership of their experiences, no matter their level of ornithological expertise. This accurate, lively, and even quotable guide will inspire people to notice nature more closely and find joy in interacting with the astounding diversity of avian life in California.

Charles Hood has studied birds and natural history from the Amazon to Tibet, and he has seen more than five thousand species of birds in the wild. A widely published poet, he has received numerous fellowships and writing awards and is the author of the Heyday collection A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat. His other Heyday titles include field guides to mammalsb and birds, and for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County he was the lead author and photographer for the book Wild LA.