All About Backyard Birds: Western North America

First in a series of beginner to novice birding books based on the #1 birding website (16MM unique users), AllAboutBirds.org from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the leading authority and voice for birders.

All About Backyard Birds builds on the huge success of the Cornell Lab's renowned website to translate and deliver best-in-class content and proven user-friendly formats into print. Eastern/Central North America and Western North America versions each provide 120 of the most popular species in each region, filled with beautiful hand illustrations by Pedro Fernandes, charts and maps, and other easy tools that make All About Backyard Birds more approachable than other birding books to beginner and novice birders.

All About Backyard Birds also includes a free download and tutorial of MERLIN®, an interactive GPS-based bird identification multimedia App, available on iTunes and Android stores (and already used by more than 1MM birders), plus our new FREE downloadable Bird QR book companion app to tap-to-listen to birds and learn more about special topics throughout the book.

As with all Cornell Lab Publishing Group books, a full 35% of the net proceeds from the sale of All About Backyard Birds goes directly to Cornell Lab to support projects such as children’s educational and community programs.

Laura Erickson has been a scientist, teacher, writer, wildlife rehabilitator, blogger, public speaker, photographer, and Science Editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She’s written seven books about birds, including The Bird Watching Answer Book and the National Geographic Pocket Guide to Birds of North America. Laura is a National Outdoor Book Award winner, an editor of Bird Scope magazine and a columnist and contributing editor for Birdwatching Magazine. In 2014, she was awarded the prestigious Roger Tory Peterson Award for lifetime achievement in promoting the cause of birding by the American Birding Association. Laura also writes and produces a daily radio segment about birds. Laura lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

Brian Scott Sockin has authored 7 books, including the children's title C.A.R.E. Treasury of Children's Folklore. Brian has a B.A. in Psychology from Binghamton University and M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business. He is CEO of the Cornell Lab Publishing Group, which has afforded him a rare opportunity to pair his passion for nature and writing with his business career. Brian has worked intimately with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for many years on numerous education and publishing initiatives, including the wildbirdclub.com family website. Brian is a native of upstate NY and now lives in Cary, NC with his family.

Pedro Fernandes is a freelance wildlife illustrator. Born in Lisbon, Pedro earned a degree in Earth Sciences, and later studied Science Illustration at the University of California, Santa Cruz and at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Pedro lives in Morocco.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
How to Use This Book
Getting Started
Bird QR Book Companion App

Birding 101
• Bird Identication
• Merlin® Bird ID App
• The Right Stu ff
• Listening to Birds
• Photographing Birds
• Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
• Birdscaping
• Bird Feeders
• Bird Food
• Water Sources
• Nest Boxes

Getting Involved
• Citizen Science
• Recording Birds & eBird
• Project FeederWatch
• NestWatch
• Celebrate Urban Birds
• Great Backyard Bird Count
• Habitat Network

Guide to Eastern & Central Species
• Canada Goose
• Wood Duck
• Mallard
• California Quail
• Gambel’s Quail
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Turkey Vulture
• Northern Harrier
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• American Coot
• Killdeer
• Ring-billed Gull
• California Gull
• Rock Pigeon
• Band-tailed Pigeon
• Eurasian Collared-Dove
• White-winged Dove
• Mourning Dove
• Great Horned Owl
• Common Nighthawk
• Black-chinned Hummingbird
• Anna’s Hummingbird
• Broad-tailed Hummingbird
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Belted Kingfisher
• Acorn Woodpecker
• Red-naped Sapsucker
• Nuttall’s Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• American Kestrel
• Western Wood-Pewee
• Black Phoebe
• Say’s Phoebe
• Ash-throated Flycatcher
• Western Kingbird
• Gray Jay
• Steller’s Jay
• Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
• Black-billed Magpie
• American Crow
• Common Raven
• Horned Lark
• Tree Swallow
• Violet-green Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Mountain Chickadee
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee
• Oak Titmouse
• Juniper Titmouse
• Bushtit
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Pygmy Nuthatch
• Brown Creeper
• House Wren
• Pacific Wren
• Bewick’s Wren
• Cactus Wren
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Wrentit
• Western Bluebird
• Mountain Bluebird
• Townsend’s Solitaire
• Hermit Thrush
• American Robin
• Varied Thrush
• Northern Mockingbird
• European Starling
• Cedar Waxwing
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Townsend’s Warbler
• Wilson’s Warbler
• Spotted Towhee
• Canyon Towhee
• California Towhee
• Chipping Sparrow
• Savannah Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Lincoln’s Sparrow
• Harris’s Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Golden-crowned Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Western Tanager
• Northern Cardinal
• Black-headed Grosbeak
• Blue Grosbeak
• Lazuli Bunting
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Brewer’s Blackbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Hooded Oriole
• Bullock’s Oriole
• House Finch
• Purple Finch
• Cassin’s Finch
• Pine Siskin
• Lesser Goldfinch
• American Goldfinch
• Evening Grosbeak
• House Sparrow

About the Cornell Lab
About the Writing Team
About the Artist
Acknowledgments
Photo Credits
References
Index