This colorful and attractively designed and packaged compendium of hundreds of facts about birds from all over the world offers readers a vast, wide-ranging collection of information about the avian world that is amusing, interesting, and enlightening. The author, a retired professor of biological sciences whose specialties include ornithology, draws upon nature, science, history, folklore, and mythology to address such subjects as communication, conservation, feeding habits, flight, migration, and nesting. The book is also full of fascinating trivia, such as the origins of bird names, bizarre behaviors of species, and superstitions. Practical advice is offered on topics like bird-watching, how to attract birds to a garden, and how to teach a parrot to talk. Abundantly illustrated throughout with colorful artwork, photographs, and diagrams, this book is as entertaining as it is informative.--"Sullivan, Ed" Copyright 2007 Booklist