BACKYARD BIRDS

A slim, attractive ``Nature Study Book'' discussing six species in a conversational, well-informed style, short on statistics or Latin names but describing habits, diets, nests, and appearance with a lively enthusiasm that will inspire readers to make comparisons and sharpen their own observation skills. The birds are all widespread in the continental US, some even in cities (the ubiquitous house sparrow is the only one that feeds scraps of human food directly to its young). Pine is even fond of the raucous starling, describing its mimicry as similar to ``someone switching from station to station on bird radio.'' The robin, house wren, hummingbird, and mosquito-eating nighthawk complete the roster; precise paintings of the birds in their habitats and a brief rundown of the standard guide series round out this inviting introduction. (Nonfiction. 6-11)