More Bird Books and Info

The second book I bought was Feed the Birds--which has recipes for  
goodies in it.  Did you know that orioles love oranges? I didn't. I will be sure to
have a feeder just for orioles.  Of interest, the book was originally from the
Smithsonian Museum Shops. Still has the original, still in plastic, red foodbag
for bird feeding in the back flap.

The next book is The Birder's Handbook--no pictures in this one, but heavy
on information regarding birds and habits. This book is meant to be used in
conjunction with a field guide.

The Hummingbirds and Butterflies book I purchased the previous Thursday
is an excellent source of information regarding what attracts hummers and
butterflies.  From what I have been reading, our hummers will take flight
headed to Mexico and Central America within the next few weeks.

The book What You Should Know About the Purple Martin had some
erroneous information within it.  According to the Purple Martin Society,
who listed the studies involved, purple martins eat flying bugs except for
mosquitos.  I will continue to research this.

The Wisdom of Birds is more on the level of a textbook, referring back to
people in the past and their theories.  The newest information surprised me.
Female birds have the hormone, oestrogen.  Male bird characteristics are
not determined by testosterone, but by the absence of oestrogen.  If a
female bird, perhaps by fault of a diseased ovary, finds herself without
oestrogen, she will take on male characteristics.  This is college level type
of textbook,so I will be going slowly through it.

After all the leaves and yardwork (mostly pruning) is done, then I will plan
next years flowers based on what is attracted to them. In the book about
the hummingbird, the author related cutting her fuschias back for the winter;
I thought they were annuals only.  So more studying needs to be done as
well as a consultation with a master gardener.