Stan Tekiela's Birding for Beginners: Rocky Mountains: Your Guide to Feeders, Food, and the Most Common Backyard Birds

by Stan Tekiela

Overview

Text Content Link Type

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647551254
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Series:	Bird-Watching Basics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Naturalist, wildlife photographer and writer Stan Tekiela is the author of more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs. Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations.

Read an Excerpt

American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis

Size: 5" (13 cm)

Male: Bright canary-yellow finch with a black forehead and tail. Black wings with white wing bars. White rump. No markings on the chest. Winter male is similar to the female.

Female: dull olive-yellow plumage with brown wings; lacks a black forehead

Juvenile: same as female

Nest: cup; female builds; 1 brood per year

Eggs: 4–6; pale blue without markings

When Seen: year-round

Food: seeds, insects; comes to seed feeders

Compare: The male Yellow Warbler (pg. 129) is yellow with orange streaks on its chest. Pine Siskin (pg. 101) has a streaked chest and belly and yellow wing bars. The female House Finch (pg. 103) and Purple Finch (pg. 117) have heavily streaked chests.

Stan’s Notes: A common backyard resident. Most often found in open fields, scrubby areas and woodlands. Enjoys Nyjer seed in feeders. Breeds in late summer. Lines its nest with the silky down from wild thistle. Almost always in small flocks. Twitters while it flies. Flight is roller coaster-like. Moves around to find adequate food during winter. Often called Wild Canary due to the male’s canary-colored plumage. Male sings a pleasant, high-pitched song.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Getting Started

Bird Feeder Basics

Get to Know Your Birdseed

Other Foods

Storing Birdseed and Feeder Maintenance

What’s That Bird? Tips for Identifying Birds

Bird Basics

Tips for a Bird-Friendly Yard

Do-It-Yourself Bird Food

Birding Citizen Science

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Use This Guide

Sample Pages

The Birds

• Black / Black & White
• Blue
• Brown
• Gray
• Green
• Orange
• Red
• White
• Yellow

Birding on the Internet

Checklist/Index by Species

Observation Notes

More for the Region by Stan Tekiela

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This accessible guide for an increasingly popular hobby teaches how to attract a variety of birds with specific food and create a welcoming space for year-round and migratory birds.”
—David Miller, Library Journal

From the Publisher