The Library

Birds of Missouri Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
Each entry includes family, Latin, and common names, description, habitat, range, and origin/age. NOTE: Also by Stan Tekiela, for children: "The Kids' Guide to Birds of Missouri : Fun Facts, Activities and 86 Cool Birds."

Find More Birds : 111 Surprising Ways to Spot Birds Wherever You Are by Heather Wolf
A photo-filled trove of tips for seeing more birds wherever you look, from crowd favorites (hummingbirds, owls, eagles) to species you've never spotted before. Includes bibliographical references.

How to Know the Birds : The Art & Adventure of Birding by Ted Floyd
How to Know the Birds introduces a new, holistic approach to bird-watching, by noting how behaviors, settings, and seasonal cycles connect with shape, song, color, gender, age distinctions, and other features traditionally used to identify species. Dozens of endearing pencil sketches accompany Floyd's charming prose, making this book a unique blend of narrative and field guide. A pleasure for birders of all ages, this witty book promises solid lessons for the beginner and smiles of recognition for the seasoned nature lover.

Missouri Bird Watching: A Year-Round Guide by Bill Thompson
In addition to the profile, each bird entry includes a map to identity the specific range covered by the bird. Full-color seasonal section informs the reader of the migrating birds that can be seen that month, the foods that attract those birds, and the plants that can assist in attracting birds.

Nature's Best Hope: a new approach to conservation that starts in your yard by Douglas W. Tallamy
Douglas W. Tallamy's first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. Nature's Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. If you're concerned about doing something good for the environment, Nature's Best Hope is the blueprint you need.

Slow Birding : The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard by Joan Strassmann
Evolutionary biologist Joan E. Strassmann introduces readers to the joys of birding right where they are. In this inspiring guide to the art of slow birding, Strassmann tells colorful stories of the most common birds to be found in the United States--birds we often see but might not have considered deeply before.

Ten Birds That Changed the World by Stephen Moss
For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religions, and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art, and poetry. In Ten Birds That Changed the World, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and intimate relationship through key species from all seven of the world's continents. From Odin's faithful raven companions to Darwin's finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening, and endlessly engaging work of natural history.

The Bald Eagle : The Improbable Journey of America's Bird by Jack E. Davis
Filled with spectacular stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of bald eagles themselves-monogamous creatures, considered among the animal world's finest parents-The Bald Eagle is a much-awaited cultural and natural history that demonstrates how this bird's wondrous journey may provide inspiration today, as we grapple with environmental peril on a larger scale.

The Bird Way : A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman
Lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteries. What they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They're also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own--deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, infanticide, but also, ingenious communication between species, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, culture, and play. Ackerman shows there is clearly no single bird way of being.

What an Owl Knows : The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Jennifer Ackerman brings alive the rich biological history of these animals and reveals the remarkable scientific discoveries into their brains and behavior. WHAT AN OWL KNOWS is an awe-inspiring and spellbinding journey across the globe and through human history, and a dazzling account of the astonishing health, hunting skills, communication, and sensory prowess that distinguishes the owl from nearly all other birds. An extraordinary glimpse into the mind of these brilliant animals.

What It's Like to Be a Bird : From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing -- What Birds Are Doing, and Why by David Sibley
David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. His exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. While the text is aimed at adults--including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes--it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. NOTE: There is also a version of this title specifically adapted for young readers.