The Birder's Bug Book the Birder's Bug Book

by Gilbert Waldbauer

Book Overview

When the first birds appeared on earth about 150 million years ago, the insects were here to greet them. Inevitably the two groups came to exploit each other, and as the eons passed, they became increasingly enmeshed in a complex web of interrelationships--birds eating bugs, blood-sucking insects feeding on birds, parasitic insects infesting birds, and birds struggling to rid themselves of the parasites. In The Birder's Bug Book Gilbert Waldbauer,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674074610
• ISBN13: 9780674074613
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.8" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Interesting effect

Trying to identify bugs in my area while gardening, I look for books with lots of pictures, hopefully color. While this interesting book has only a few color plates in the center, if one skims through the pages for a quick overview, you'll notice a woodpecker pecking at a tree in the lower right-hand corner of the pages! Too many people look at my yard, and wonder why I just don't revert to chemicals to kill weeds and bugs. This book does a lot to inform people of the relationship the insects, plants, and birds have to each other and us. There are several black and white extremely detailed drawings of insects and birds are fantastic from an artistic standpoint also. The text isn't too technical and well describes insects as well as the birds.

You'll never look at bugs the same way

This book is a thrill-ride from start to end. Unbelievable you say - but it's true. The author's engaging down to earth style makes this read like a movie. I learned more about insects from this book than any other insect book I've started to read and put down. The only other book I can compare it to is David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth. Attenborough is a great writer. And he has amazing pictures. but The Birder's Bug Book is the one I would buy, and would give to my kids. It's just an incredibly fun book to read, and it really reveals (as a previous reviewer has noted) the web of life.

Here's the web of life for you

This is a very informative, easy to read book that talks about the interrelationships of bugs and birds, how they've evolved together, how bugs try to deter birds, how birds work to overcome the defenses, and how people are playing a role. It goes into detail that is just enough for someone like me who doesn't have a science background but want to know more than tjust the basics. Its got a lot of fun (and not so fun) facts that make you think and simply broaden your perspectives. I'm glad I bought it