Hummingbirds: A Celebration of Nature's Jewels: 27 (WILDGuides)

Wonderful images and exhaustive text make this the perfect companion.Whether you want to identify species or learn more about their lives this is a treasure trove

HAVE JUST RECEIVED THIS BOOK - WHAT A SUPERB BOOK WITH SO MUCH INFORMATION NOT PUBLISHED BEFORE ACCOMPANIED WITH SUPERB PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS - VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ALL WHO LOVE HUMMINGBIRDS - I HAVE STUDIED THEM SINCE 1938 .CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO TOOK PART IN WRITING THIS BOOK!

A beautiful account of the jewels of the Americas

I wanted a book on hummingbirds as I had seen about 3 or 4 different species in America and the Caribbean, and I began to wonder just how many species there were to look out for and how far they could travel, because I now have a son living in California and making a book about the huge numbers of butterflies he and his family could look out for I thought it would be nice to add hummingbirds. I never realised there were so many of them! And this book tells you all you could wish to know about how they have evolved and adapted to a huge range of the Americas.

Hummingbirds are an amazing group of birds in so many ways. Their ability to exist in a variety of climates and altitudes presents them with physical challenges, and their speed of operation defies belief for us mere humans. Add to that their often-outstanding iridescent plumages and you have a very special group of birds.Depending on whose taxonomy you follow there are around 370 species of about 100 genera in the family. This book follows that supported by BirdLife International – and if you are a conservationist this makes sense as BirdLife are the organisation that assesses which species are most in need of help.All but 90 hummingbird species are illustrated with superb photographs, and many are shown several times as there are 547 images in the book. The text explains how these birds live – how the fly, how they feed, where they nest and how they use their plumages to maximum effect. There is also plenty of information about conservation issues and how people relate to hummingbirds through different cultures.Both Glenn Bartley and Andy Swash are world-renowned professional wildlife photographers, so it is no surprise that every image chosen for the book is stunning and although the authors have supplied most of the images themselves, they have brought in over 60 other photographers to ensure great coverage.I really like the taxonomic section which outlines not only the basic distribution and status of each species, but also the relationship of these with some forms that are split by other authorities. If you follow a list such as IOC then you’ll occasionally be thrown by Birdlife’s choice of name (for example the bird I call Blue-headed Sapphire is Gray’s Hummingbird). But the main thing to admire is the outstanding photography which is so well matched by a very readable text. This is the best hummingbird book I have ever seen.

Many books have been published on hummingbirds, but none have succeeded to the degree that Glenn Bartley and Andy Swash have with this glorious new volume.Part coffee table book, part reference, this book covers every aspect of hummingbird biology and ecology, with a generous complement of ground-breaking, easy-to-read science. The book is lavishly illustrated, with dozens of explanatory diagrams and tables, plus hundreds of exquisite photographs, itself a triumph as the super-saturated iridescent plumage is notoriously hard to capture in print.Photographed and designed with great skill and an obvious passion for the subject by the authors, this is a fascinating read, with outstanding pictures.By comparison with what has come before, I consider this to be the definitive celebration of hummingbirds and their world.

One of the rare books that manage to combine in depth science and well-written narratives... A very impressive amount of knowledge is packed in, with spectacular photography to boot!Highly recommended for anyone who loves birds. (and that price is an absolute steal)

This is really a beautiful book, about a beautiful family of birds. The quality of the photos, and of the design and production of the book generally, is astonishing. This is a sumptuous feast of a book to linger over, savouring every page.

I gave this a gift, and the recipient loves it. Beautiful photos, and very informative.

Bought this book for my parents anniversary!! They love it and so do I

Acima das minhas expectativas... Gostei muito...

Com fantásticas fotos e enquadramento biológico nos ecossistemas. É uma pena não ter fotos de fêmeas.

Un libro che apre al mondo di questi splendidi animali e dà la possibilità di avere una visione a 360 gradi su tutto ciò che ne può concernere (cultura popolare, habitat, specie esistenti, riproduzione, conservazione, fisiologia ecc. ecc.). Foto splendide e numerose... Secondo me un libro fatto davvero con amore e passione.Vale i soldi spesi, lo stra-consiglio.Una vera piccola celebrazione di questi gioielli alati.