Why Do Bluebirds Hate Me?

April 29, 2013
O’Connor (Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches? And Other Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask), owner of the Birdwatcher’s General Store in Cape Cod, Mass., offers a second q&a compilation from his weekly column, Ask the Bird Folks, which appears in the local newspaper Cape Codder. Here, the author focuses on the more obscure questions he receives to “expand the readers’ bird horizons.” O’Connor’s humorous answers are extensively researched, and include explanations of why quail chicks may appear to have two dads, the sad fate of the Carolina Parakeet, and the connection between American chickens and India’s wild jungle fowl. O’Connor also provides practical advice on issues such as cleaning birdhouses, keeping rats away from feeders, the perks of owning a heated birdbath, how and why to make a bird list, and of course, birdseed. While many questions come from readers in Massachusetts, O’Connor makes a point to include birds from other countries and sings the praises of the good-natured Australian Kookaburra, the story of Lapland Longspurs and their Canadian breeding ground, and the scavenging habits of Mexican Eagles. This detailed q&a will appeal to bird enthusiasts and birdwatchers, but O’Connor’s friendly approach will also appeal to novices. Illus.

September 1, 2013
The owner of the Bird Watcher's General Store on Cape Cod and author of Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches? (2007) is back with another humorous question-and-answer book of bird lore. O'Connor takes from both his bird column in Cape Cod's weekly newspaper and questions he is asked in his store to gather a nice selection of quirky and more common questions that teach the reader quite a bit of ornithology between the chuckles. Answering questions as diverse as whether or not bird feeders attract rats (no, if the correct seed is used), whether or not Central Park really is a good birding destination (it is), and why blue jays eat paint (for its calcium content), the author finds the answers to even the most bizarre questions. The birds range from the backyard speciescardinals, chickadees, chickensto the less common, such as hummingbirds, peregrine falcons, and bluebirds; to the truly exotic, including hoopoes, puffins, and the African fish eagle. And, finally, scattered throughout are bits devoted to public enemy #1squirrelsand how to defeat them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)