Written for a general audience, with spectacular images for birders and nature enthusiasts at every level, Hummingbirds of Texas reveals the enormous appeal of this tiniest and shiniest of birds. The book opens with a look at the many manifestations of the human attraction to these flying jewels.
• The Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen-science project run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has recruited hundreds of people to feed hummingbirds and record their activities throughout the state.
• The Rockport–Fulton Hummer/Bird Celebration, one of several festivals dedicated to hummingbirds, draws thousands of people each fall to the Texas coast where birds gather in huge numbers before migrating south.
• Bird-loving landowners invite the public to enjoy hummingbirds that live and breed on their ranches.
• Tips make attracting hummingbirds to your own lawn or garden easy, such as what to plant in the ground or in pots and how to choose and take care of feeders.
The authors then showcase the nineteen different hummingbird species that have appeared in the region covered by the book. Magnificent color photographs and original artwork aid in identification and accompany descriptions, range maps, and abundance graphs for each species.
Birds featured:
Allen's Hummingbird • Anna's Hummingbird • Berylline Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird • Blue-throated Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird • Broad-tailed Hummingbird • Buff-bellied
Hummingbird • Calliope Hummingbird • Costa's Hummingbird
Green-breasted Mango • Green Violet-ear • Lucifer Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird • Plain-capped Starthroat • Ruby-throated
Hummingbird • Rufous Hummingbird • Violet-crowned Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
About the Author
CLIFFORD E. SHACKELFORD is the state-wide non-game ornithologist at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Nacogdoches, where he also hosts the radio show "Bird Calls" for NPR's Red River Radio. MADGE M. LINDSAY is the former executive director of Audubon Mississippi now living in Fort Davis, Texas. C. MARK KLYM, an information specialist at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department based in Bastrop, coordinates the Texas Hummingbird Roundup.