Bird flight is a mesmerizing spectacle, yet its intricacies remain largely shrouded in mystery for most. Even after over a century of study, certain aspects of bird flight continue to baffle the public and ornithologists alike.

Peter Cavanagh, a dedicated bird photographer, pilot, and expert in the fields of biomechanics and anatomy, has dedicated a decade to crafting this remarkable book, How Birds Fly. Through awe-inspiring photography and conversational prose, Peter unveils the complex evolutions and physics of bird flight, making it accessible to bird lovers of all levels.

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Danielle Whittaker's The Secret Perfume of Birds is the untold story of a stunning discovery: not only can birds smell, but their scents may be the secret to understanding their world.

The puzzling lack of evidence for the peculiar but widespread belief that birds have no sense of smell irked evolutionary biologist Danielle Whittaker. Exploring the science behind the myth led her on an unexpected quest investigating mysteries from how juncos win a fight to why cowbirds smell like cookies. In The Secret Perfume of Birds—part science, part intellectual history, and part memoir—Whittaker blends humor, clear writing, and a compelling narrative to describe how scent is important not just for birds but for all animals, including humans.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
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Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Mike Stark’s Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird is a first-of-its-kind history of starlings in America, an oddball, love-hate story at the intersection of human folly, ornithology, and one bird’s tenacious will to endure.

Has there ever been a more hated bird than the European starling? Let loose in New York City’s Central Park by a misguided aristocrat, the starlings were supposed to help curb insect outbreaks and add to the tuneful choir of other songbirds. Rather than staying put, the dark and speckled starlings marched across the continent like a conquering army. In less than sixty years, they were in every state in the contiguous United States and their numbers topped two hundred million. Cities came under siege; crops buckled beneath their weight. Public sentiment quickly soured.

A bitter, baffling, and sometimes comical war on starlings ensued. Weapons included dynamite, guns, bounties, fake owls, real owls, rubber snakes, balloons, itching powder, and greased building ledges. Still, artists and scientists marveled at their undulating aerial formations, which seemed equal parts poetry and mathematics. Keen listeners recognized the starling as one of the world’s great vocal mimics, imitating everything from fellow birds and cell phones to barking dogs, car alarms, and TV commercials. And then there were their undeniable skills of adaptation and survival. What if there was more to these stubborn villains than once thought?

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
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Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Professional birding amateur and national bestselling author Matt Kracht has had it with these goddamn birds. His new book, A Dumb Birds Field Guide to the Worst Birds Ever, is a warning, a field guide to help you identify and stay away from the absolute worst birds ever to plague planet Earth. Featuring an all-new scientific scale devised by the author that proves how awful birds really are.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
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Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Roger Pasquier's Birds at Rest is the first book to give a full picture of how birds rest, roost, and sleep, a vital part of their lives. It features new science that can measure what is happening in a bird’s brain over the course of a night or when it has flown to another hemisphere, as well as still-valuable observations by legendary naturalists such as John James Audubon, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Theodore Roosevelt. Much of what they saw and what ornithologists are studying today can be observed and enjoyed by any birder.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
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Email us at HannahandErikGoBirding@gmail.com
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Ian Parsons', Of the Trees and the Birds, tells the story of how trees and birds go together, as they have done for millions of years, evolving long before we did. Over their long and shared history, they have formed numerous relationships, some of which are basic and obvious to us, like a bird using a tree to perch in whilst searching for food. Others are more intricate, but still noticeable to us, with the classic example being that many tree species use birds to propagate their next generation by providing their seed wrapped in nutritious food parcels that we call berries. But even this relationship can be more involved than it at first seems, with some trees using lethal methods to ensure that they get the seed courier method they want, whilst other trees use ultraviolet signals to inform the birds that the berries are ready and even change the shade of the berry to indicate whether it is best eaten in the evening or the morning.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at HannahandErikGoBirding@gmail.com
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

It is the end of 2024 - so time for a bit of a wrap-up! Lyzy Lusterman, owner of Buteo Books, joined me to talk about some favorites, some trends, and books to look forward to in 2025.

Buteo Books is a family-owned and operated business based on the firm belief that independent booksellers are a vital component of our social and cultural landscape. Their brick-and-mortar store is in San Rafael, California but can also be found online (Instagram; TikTok)

Don't forget to check-out Buteo Books for holiday gifts! Use discount code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB to receive 5% off your orders.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
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Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at HannahandErikGoBirding@gmail.com
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB

Tessa Boase's Etta Lemon is a gripping narrative exploring two formidable heroines and their rival, overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather workers’ slums to high society, from the first female political rally to the rise of the eco-feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to her rightful place in history – the extraordinary woman who saved the birds.

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GoodReads: Hannah Buschert
IG: @Hannahgoesbirding
Facebook: @HannahandErikGoBirding
Email us at HannahandErikGoBirding@gmail.com
Website: http://www.gobirdingpodcast.com

Get a discount at Buteo Books using code: BIRDNERDBOOKCLUB