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Songbird Journeys
Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds
Miyoko Chu

Reviews of Songbird Journeys

Untitled Document "Songbird Journeys...carries a strong conservation message and includes extensive lists of sources of additional information. Many readers will find the chapter on finding and monitoring bird nests worth the price of the book."—Charleston Gazette (WV)

"Songbird Journeys is a fascinating introduction to bird migration. It carries a strong conservation message and includes extensive lists of sources of additional information. Many readers will find the chapter on finding and monitoring bird nests worth the price of the book."—Dr. Scott Shalaway, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Chu covers theories and research with affection and passion. She describes how little is known about where songbirds winter, how they cope with urban settings and logged forests, how they compete for food. Detailing ongoing work, she makes a strong case for thinking globally as songbirds do and acting locally for conservation. Whether or not you're aware of songbirds' exceptional lives of seasonal travel, Chu's book will both enlighten and delight."—Irene Wanner, The Seattle Times

"Simply yet crisply written, Chu's work summarizes much of what has recently been learned about the multiple lives of songbirds...Like John McPhee in his travels with geologists, Chu turns to the ornithological detectives to piece together the story...Chu's researchers have truly great tales to tell."—Alan Tennant, The Washington Post

"Songbird Journeys pulls together in one readable book much of the latest research on the fascinating lives of the songbirds. Anyone who has been impressed or inspired by these tiny feathered jewels will be more so after reading this book." —David Allen Sibley

"The most enjoyable blend of birding lore and ornithological knowledge I have read in 30 years of bird-watching...readers of 'Songbird Journeys' can savor more avian pleasure than what's found on an entire shelf of standard birding books."—James F. McCarty, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"The wonder of bird migration has puzzled humans for centuries. Literally millions of birds all over the world make seasonal movements to and from their breeding grounds, some traveling a short distance while others fly thousands of miles. Our most familiar birds are the songbirds, whom we know well while they visit during the breeding season. But what is known about their lives during the majority of the year, when they are either traveling or on their wintering grounds? Chu, an ornithologist and science writer for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, has written an impressive introduction to the study of birds on the move. Following the birds through the four seasons, she begins with spring as birds leave the shores of the Yucatan Peninsula for a nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Summer finds birds busily nesting and feeding young on the abundant food resources that are the ultimate reason for their migration. In autumn the reverse of the spring migration occurs, albeit more protracted as individual species finish breeding and go. In winter the birds have reinserted themselves into their off-season habitat, where they interact with an entirely different group of species from their summer neighbors. Chu examines the science of studying migration and peppers the text with anecdotes from field researchers. Each seasonal section ends with a list of hot spots for observing the birds in that phase of the cycle. Highly recommended.—Nancy Bent, Booklist, starred review.

"Each spring, millions of orioles, tanagers, thrushes, warblers and other songbirds travel thousands of miles from the tropics to their summer breeding grounds as far north as the boreal forests of Canada and in the fall return to their southern wintering grounds. Navigating by the stars, magnetic fields and polarized light patterns invisible to humans, the birds make their amazing journeys at night, flying in huge flocks that most of us never see. In this captivating debut, Chu, an ornithologist at Cornell, conveys the wonder of these migrations, following the birds through all four seasons and chronicling the efforts of scientists to track them with technology and their own ingenuity-trekking to distant locales, some even following, in cars and airplanes, individual birds outfitted with transmitters. Their heroic efforts are important, Chu points out, for only by understanding where the birds go can we learn how to preserve their habitats. To engage the general public in these efforts, she includes information on the best places to observe migrating birds and provides lists of citizen-science projects and resources for amateurs birders who want to contribute to the growing base of knowledge about bird migration."—Publishers Weekly

"By mixing crisp writing with patient explanation, Miyoko Chu has produced something rare--a book that offers something for both expert ornithologists and backyard bird lovers. Read Songbird Journeys and learn about the miracle of bird migration." —Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year

"Everyone interested in birds, and even people who know little about them, will enjoy Songbird Journeys because it allows you to experience birds. It is sprinkled with sparkling anecdotes that give visceral contact and meaning to the biology of one of the planet's most epic marvels--migration, much of which has been unraveled only in the last half century." —Bernd Heinrich, author of The Geese of Beaver Bog

"In Songbird Journeys, Miyoko Chu captures both the sweep and the drama of bird migration, whether through the raw thrill of an airborne biologist following thrushes into the jaws of violent thunderstorms, or the patience of a scientist unraveling the winter life of a warbler in the tropics. And along with such compelling stories, Chu interleaves suggestions for how to enjoy the migration first-hand - where to go, what to look for, even how to use weather radar to watch for clouds of migrant birds, or how to join a research project. Songbird Journeys is that rare book that mingles passion, beauty and science into a surprising, fascinating whole." —Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind

"Songbird Journeys is one of the best bird books ever, filled with solid and current scientific information while beautifully expressing what it is about birds that touches our minds and hearts. A satisfying read on every level." —Laura Erickson, author of 101 Ways to Help Birds

About Miyoko Chu