Cover Image: The Hummingbird Handbook

The Hummingbird Handbook

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Member Reviews

Thank you NetGalley, John Shewey and Timber Press for the ARC of The Hummingbird Handbook. This is my personal review.
When I saw the cover, I knew I wanted to read this book. The hummingbird on the cover is stunning!
Hummingbirds are an amazing bird, and this book brings the history, facts, trivia, and information to help you understand them better.
The book is written so well that reading it is a pleasure. The photography is fantastic. There are so many types of hummingbirds and to see them up close is beautiful.
I have family and friends who will love this book and it will make a great gift for them.

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This is a gorgeous book full of fascinating information for anyone who is interested in learning more about this little bird. Who knew that there actually was a hummingbird that wasn't tiny like the others! Unfortunately for me, where I live, there is only one kind of hummer that frequents my backyard gardens so it was great to read about the other species and see so many gorgeous up close photos. So full of colour!
The book also includes a lot of informative history, folklore and just everyday things that I never knew about this interesting bird. Great details on how to make your yard inviting to hummingbirds so you can view them in real life as well as how to identify them. There's even a little bit of information about the fascinating hummingbird moth. I was pleased to see that Canada was shown in the location maps as well.
I think this book would be a perfect guide to add to your collection.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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This is an excellent guide to hummingbirds that's packed with information and beautiful photos. I especially appreciated the detailed profiles of many flowers to plant for hummingbirds since I am not the type of person who can commit to cleaning and refilling a hummingbird feeder every day (yes, the author says you really should do it daily, preferably in the evening since they can rise before dawn and start feeding). Flowers are the preferred foods for hummers anyway, and I loved how many were suited to my cold MN zone 4 garden. There's info on the best kinds of feeders, the top ten most common hummingbirds, the ranges they're in, places to see them on vacation, and so much more. Really, really thorough, great book.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

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Hummingbirds must be the most striking and fascinating birds on the planet and this book contains stunning and achingly beautiful photography, information and descriptions of these tiny creatures. If this book doesn't entice you to read/learn more about them, nothing will! I just love it. It is like a dream come true for a novice hummingbird observer like me!

There are about 340 known species of hummers, ranging in size from a dime to a robin and found in many regions, even mine which is a zone 2a (aka very cold). The author discusses the reverence some cultures had for them in history, the feather fashion phase (unfortunately), habitat ranges, identification, how and what to feed them in which feeder and the importance of meticulously clean feeders, plants to attract, predators (yellow jackets and praying mantis!) and the most glorious photography you can imagine. Until now I had not seen pictures of their long tongues! We are even told about the names of the feathers and other terminology.

The amount of information here is staggering. I actually feel smarter after reading this, though it is not textbook style whatsoever. Very engaging and accessible. I learned that building their nests near some hawks is a good thing and the reason they must feed just before they retire for the night. The Big Eight are detailed. There are excellent lists on where to watch them.

If you are a beginner or expert, you will learn a ton from John Shewey (of Birds & Blooms). What a happy discovery, especially during a pandemic!

My sincere thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this spectacular book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

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The Hummingbird Handbook by John Shewey. I absolutely love this book about hummingbirds. I especially loved the parts about the planting of flowers and bushes to attract hummingbirds. I watched hummingbirds only 2 last summer but I was so excited just having two my mom and my daughters house both seem to attract them. The photographs are very pretty. I have already preordered this book on kindle even though I viewed it on the Netgalley app for review. I love it.

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A beautiful, informative book. There's a lot of information to find here, but I found myself drawn to the beautiful photographs.

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This is an absolutely gorgeous book that is also a comprehensive guide to hummingbirds. The beautiful photos are accompanied by information on hummingbird folklore, different species of hummingbird, hummingbird feeder safety, and ways to make your yard inviting for hummingbirds.

This is the bird that looks most like a faerie and captures our imaginations as it hovers over a flower and then flits away, sometimes sparkling incandescently. The photos really do this little creature justice. Any nature lovers and fans of hummingbirds (who isn't?) will love this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

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“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”
— Baba Dioum

THE HUMMINGBIRD HANDBOOK offers a stunning look at this beloved whirring wonder, one you’ll adore even more after reading this intriguing guide. Colorful photos capture an array of types, including the rufus-crested coquette, for example, whose head feathers rival any British “fascinator.”

There are tips on feeders, plants and landscaping to attract these tiny miracles of nature. Hurrah! And eye-opening factoids: Did you know hummingbirds move their wings 10 to 80 times per second (!) while hovering? Also included are maps revealing breeding and migration patterns, plus photos showing which type resides where. A book to be savored and included in every home, school and public library.

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 13 Apr 2021

Thanks to the author, Timber Press, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

#TheHummingbirdHandbook #NetGalley

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A delightful primer on the Lilliputian wonder of the avian world: The hummingbird.

For a nature book intended to educate, this was exceptionally well organized and so charmingly written. Shewey writes in a tone that strikes an unusually good balance between cleverly engaging and informative. The writing is approachable yet authoritative, which is the rarely encountered but ideal balance for books in this genre.

The book is gorgeously photographed and doesn’t stint on photo quantity either, a gripe I often have with bird books.

I was further impressed by Shewey’s wealth of knowledge on how to attract hummingbirds to your property. The book has extensive information about feeders as well as what to plant to draw hummers to your yard.

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This book offers an excellent look into hummingbird history, and habits. It was especially helpful to read frequent examples of the author's backyard stories as well as actual field experience.

It was incredibly interesting to learn about the breading, feeding, and turf habits of these micro birds. Side note--they regularly agitate larger birds just to mess with them. Think black birds and even hawks!?

I had no idea that there was a long history of American indigenous hunting and display of the birds into textiles. I also had no clue that European settler's initial fear turned into eventual trading of killed specimens. Crazy.

I've adored hummers for a long time, but this book makes me want to put out a feeder this summer!

**The PDF that I enjoyed was an advanced reader copy granted to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own and not that of the publisher.**

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I have been dipping in and out of this delightful book for the last 2 weeks. It is the definitive book on hummingbirds, full of spectacular photographs.,

It details the different species, their habitat and locations (including easy to view maps), along with what they like to eat. It gives information on the plants that these birds love, and how to create a garden that will attract them in your geographic area.

I particularly enjoyed all the stories and history on why some of these birds were named the way they were and just the general information about these fascinating creatures.

I thoroughly recommend this for anyone interested in hummingbirds.

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5⭐️
I love this cover! Sometimes I just want to sit down and look at pictures of nature. I’m so busy working in the medical field that I’m not outside “living”. This book felt to me like a guided tour through a hummingbird museum.
I’ve always been fascinated with humming birds and was surprised to see them actually in my neighborhood. I’m definitely going to try to make my yard more appealing to them in the future. I had no idea that they were first discovered in America.
I really liked this book and thought it would make a great coffee table read.

In this book you’ll find:
*beautiful photos
*trivia
*hummingbird basics and facts
*gallery of species
*how to create a likable environment for Hummers.

I highly recommend this if you love hummingbirds. It’s so much more than a book with beautiful pictures of hummingbirds.

Thank you Timber Press via Netgalley for this wonderful ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This book is wonderful....whether the reader is a hummingbird lover or not!! The pictures alone make it a great “coffee table book”, but then add in all the information and trivia and we have a “everything you always wanted to know about hummingbirds” book! Every year I have hummingbird visitors in my back yard where I keep feeders intertwined with my flowers and water effects perfect for a hummingbird. I am always wanting to learn more and to be sure I have everything I need for my visitors and this book gave me that “extra” I was looking for. John Shewey knows hummingbirds, and I for one am glad that he shared his knowledge for novices like myself as well as those already in the know!! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Timber Press for the opportunity to review. #NetGalley #TheHummingbirdHandbook #TimberPress

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The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About These Fascinating Birds by John Shewey is a highly informative book. I was extremely glad to read about planting gardens to encourage more hummingbirds to my yard in the summer. The plant names are given to help with locating the plants you prefer. There is information about the feeders, nectar, and cautions about pests which may discourage the small birds from your feeders. The book is filled with information about the varied species, and their migrating habits. The photographs of the hummingbirds at the end of the book are vivid and beautiful!
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I've always loved hummingbirds since seeing them frequenting my mom's feeders as a child. They seemed almost magical as the hovered and flitted amongst the flowers and feeders. So I was excited and grateful to receive this ARC from Netgalley and Timber Press in return for my honest review.

This book is absolutely beautiful, full of fascinating information from legends and folklore to information on making your yard inviting to hummningbirds and identifying the various species. There are meany gorgeous color photos of the birds, as well. This is definitely a book you will return to time after time.

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I absolutely love hummingbirds and have been fascinated with them ever since seeing a Nova documentary on PBS. If you are a hummingbird enthusiast or want to learn more about them, this book is perfect. The pictures are excellent.

Thanks to Netgalley, John Shewey and Timber Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 4/13/21

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A very informative book about hummingbirds. Anyone who enjoys hummingbirds would enjoy this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review review.

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The Hummingbird Handbook would be the perfect gift for any hummingbird lover. It has so many absolutely stunning pictures of these gorgeous creatures! It also has tons of interesting information about them. It was a bit heavier on the text than I expected, but I will be sure to visit it again to find out more about the lovely hummingbirds.

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