BACKYARD BIRDS OF SUMMER

An attractive and appealing title to feather the imagination- -the companion volume to Backyard Birds in Winter (1994). Lerner features 30 migratory birds that summer in the US, providing readers with life-size, full-color scale drawings, information on habitat and food preferences, and range maps. For most birds, Lerner discusses the most familiar species for each region of the US, e.g., in describing buntings, she includes the indigo bunting common in the northeast and central US, the lazuli bunting of the West, and the painted bunting of Texas and the Gulf Coast. Among the others described are grosbeaks, catbirds, hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, wrens, swallows, and bluebirds. Especially useful is information on attracting birds to the backyard, constructing feeders and birdhouses, selecting plants, and feeding. Lerner conveys her love of and respect for her subject on every page; she makes the natural world as close as readers' backyards. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8+)