The birds at my table Why we feed wild birds and why it matters

In addition to his own impressive research, Jones (professor, deputy director, Environmental Futures Research Inst., Griffith Univ.) has performed a thorough survey of world literature on bird feeders and the people who maintain them. There are several books on attracting and feeding birds, but few that analyze the results and significance of this popular pastime. Jones summarizes research to provide an excellent job of investigating the good and bad effects of bird feeding: why we do it, the business of making and selling the foods, and whether it should be done year-round. There are no illustrations to enhance this unique text; in that aspect, it comes across as an academic survey, although there are helpful subheadings and anecdotes in the nine chapters that help break up the engaging prose. There are also extensive chapter notes and a solid bibliography. An important, somewhat similar, predecessor is Paul J. Baicich et al.'s Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce, and Conservation, which is cited throughout. VERDICT A thorough, scholarly work that will be of interest to serious naturalists, birders, and curious general readers.-Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of -Philadelphia © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An Australian naturalist expresses his concerns about the feeding of wild birds and examines the impact not just on birds, but on the environment as a whole.As Jones (Deputy Director, Environmental Futures Research Institute/Griffith Univ.; co-author: Mound-Builders, 2009, etc.) writes, people feed wild birds for a variety of reasons, but chief among them are the pleasure they get from watching them and the belief that they are helping the birds. Throughout the book, the author provides readers with numerous arguments to question the truth of the latter. Jones looks at the evolution of bird feeding from winter-only to a year-round practice, a change that has an impact on bird populations, distribution, health, and behaviors. He provides a graphic description of the extraordinary growth of the bird food industry and asks how and why this came about. The author introduces many questions, but while there are countless books about what and how to feed wild birds, he finds that there is a dearth of scientific research addressing his concerns about what wild bird feeding means for landscapes, ecosystems, and the birds themselves. What is known, Jones reports, is that the bird food industry is gigantic and influential, the amount of feed put out for wild birds is astronomical, year-round feeding will lead to changes in bird behavior, and feederspoints of bird-to-bird contactcan spread disease. Readers expecting a user-friendly guide to backyard bird feeding will not find it here. This is a hard look at the practice that raises serious questions and suggests that the consequences of this commonplace and seemingly harmless and pleasant pastime need further investigation by the scientific community. At the end of the book, the author includes a helpful appendix, "Species Mentioned in the Text," that lists both common and scientific names.An intriguing book that is sure to ruffle the feathers of many nonscientist bird enthusiasts. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.