Calvin Simonds - Private Lives of Garden Birds

Private Lives of Garden Birds

by CALVIN SIMONDS

Illustrations by Julie Zickefoose

The mission of Storey Publiahing is to serve our customers

by publishing practical information that encourages

personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Deborah Burns

Cover and book design by Kent Lew

Art direction by Meredith Maker

Cover and interior illustrations Julie Zickefoose

Cover photo David Maslowski Photography

Expert reviews by Bill Thompson III, editor, Bird Watchers Digest;

Sara Hiebert, associate professor of biology, Swarthmore College;
and Maywa Montenegro 02, Williams College.

2002 by Calvin Simonds

This book was previously published by Rodale Press and by The Globe Pequot Press.
First and second edition copyright 1984, 1991 by the children of Calvin Simonds.

Portions of chapter 1 originally appeared in Horticulture. Portions of chapter 3 originally appeared, in slightly different form, in Blair & Ketchums Country Journal.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Books. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, Massachusetts 01247.

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Printed in the United States by R. R. Donnelley

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Simonds, Calvin.

Private lives of garden birds / by Calvin Simonds.

p. cm.

Originally published: Emmaus, Pa. : Rodale Press, c1984.

ISBN 1-58017-470-1 (alk. paper)

1. Birds United States. 2. Garden animals United States.

3. Birds Behavior United States. I. Title.

QL682 . S56 2002

598.0973dc21

2002007748

To my two great ornithological mentors:
LOVELL THOMPSON, who taught me to love birds
as a child, and PETER MARLER, who taught me
to love them as an adult.

Virtuoso Singers

Graceful Colonists of Our Buildings

The Family Reunion at Your Feeder

Faithful Friends in the Garden

Each Region Its Own Sparrow Language

Tuneful Aggression

Cheeky Foreigners on the Make

Gentle Tyrants

Pushy Polygamists

Complex Societies of the Bird World

Pennyweight Birds with a Pound of Attitude

Any writer who popularizes science builds his work upon an immense structure erected by the painstaking labors of other people. We are fortunate, all of us, to live in an age of great ornithological achievements, a time when discoveries are being made daily about the most basic matters of bird life. To try to condense all these accomplishments into short, readable essays is a humbling experience.

In addition to my general debt to ornithological science, I owe a particular debt to specific scientists who were kind enough to read drafts of these materials and advise me. Ellie Brown, Sara Hiebert, Alan Kamil, Howard Kramer, Don Kroodsma, Cheryl Logan, William Shields, Susan Smith, W. J. Smith, and Ken Yasukawa all helped out in this way. Although I usually took their advice, occasionally the amateur in me took hold and I stubbornly maintained some of my homegrown hunches in the face of their expert contrary opinion. Thus, if keen-eyed readers find anomalies in the text, the blame should be laid to the author, not to the generous experts who assisted me.

PEEKING INTO THE PRIVATE LIVES of wild birds is an irresistible temptation for any curious naturalist. Its always fun to watch birds at a feeder or in the garden, but understanding their behavior takes time and patience. And it helps to have a teacher.

Calvin Simonds is that teacher, and Private Lives of Garden Birds is his textbook. If youre a gardener who loves birds, or if you just enjoy watching birds and dont even know their names, Simondss glimpse into their private lives will open a new window to the world you call your backyard.

For example, I think that every adult in America, certainly those with gardens and backyards, recognizes a robin. But do you know why a case could be made that the robin might be a better national symbol than the bald eagle?

Everyone who recalls Harper Lees classic novel from high school English class has heard of a mockingbird, but do you know why its so named?

And I cant imagine anyone east of the Rockies who has never watched in awe as a ruby-throated hummingbird hovered above a flower, but have you ever wondered how a tiny bird that weighs hardly a tenth of an ounce can migrate across the Gulf of Mexico?

In Private Lives of Garden Birds, Simonds answers these questions and many more about some of the most common birds in America. And he does it with a style and wit that both gardeners and casual backyard bird watchers will enjoy. I have been writing a syndicated nature column since 1986, and I know such readers well. Its great to have an entire book to refer readers to when they ask about their favorite backyard friends.

Private Lives need not be read chapter by chapter, in the order presented. Each chapter, each bird or group of birds, stands alone, and some readers (like me) prefer hop-scotching through such books.

If youre not sure where to begin, let me suggest Chapter 4: Chickadees. Though drably colored, chickadees have more personality than all the other backyard birds combined. And they are fearless. Simonds takes advantage of these traits by introducing us to the Chickadee Lady, a neighbor from his childhood, and youll discover how she taught chickadees to eat from her hand.

Youll learn how you can do it, too. And when you do, youll be hooked forever on garden birds in general, and chickadees in particular. Trust me, theres simply no more magical experience in nature than to entice a free-flying wild bird to land on an outstretched finger to snatch a sunflower kernel from your palm. Hell look you right in the eye, fly off for the quick snack, and then return for more.

Private Lives is a book of little gems facts, explanations, and tips that will bring pleasure from your garden and backyard for the rest of your life. Enjoy.

SCOTT SHALAWAY

Certified wildlife biologist, writer, and speaker

Introduction