Need a good nature read this summer? A truly informative book I can enthusiastically recommend is Bridget Stutchbury's The Private Lives of Birds. Her research, experiences, and stories offer an incredible glimpse into the complexities of the avian realm during the breeding season. Paint a slightly larger black badge on Common Yellowthroat male and he's instantly more appealing to females. What does a male's plumage say about the status and health of the bird? Find out much time a male Scarlet Tanager can be away from an incubating female on a nest before she breaks the union and abandons the entire project, including him! It might even be that eggs in her nest have different fathers. Our beloved songbirds are liars, cheaters, and bullies? Say it isn't so! I know I'll cite this book for years to come with increasing my understanding of avian social relationships and will undoubtedly make birding that much more interesting!
