The Love Lives of Birds: Courting and Mating Rituals

by Laura Erickson

From the lifelong devotion of the American crow to the dalliances of the eastern bluebird, from the bald eagle’s dazzling aerial display to the male ruby-throated hummingbird’s reputation as a “deadbeat dad” — courtship, mating, and parenting differ dramatically among birds. Ornithologist and author Laura Erickson takes readers on a romance-fueled romp through the love lives of 35 species, exploring the diversity of avian approaches to pairing up. Each species spotlight pairs Erickson’s remarkable depth of scientific knowledge with her talent for drawing humorous and insightful parallels between human and bird. The result is a riveting read for bird-watchers and nature lovers alike.

• ISBN10: 1635862752
• ISBN13: 9781635862751
• Publish Date: 27 October 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 May 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Storey Publishing LLC
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 152
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Love Lives of Birds is a well written, layman accessible manual written by Laura Erickson. Due out 27th Oct 2020 from Storey Publishing, it's 152 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a well written nonfiction collection of birds and their mating behaviors. The book contains a general introduction followed by more than 30 bird species arranged alphabetically by common name. Each of the entries contains an illustration (see cover), along with a short 2-3 page essay on basic mating and pairbonding behavior. The book is full of interesting facts and trivia about each of the birds included although the author's anthropomorphism was a bit heavy going sometimes. I also felt the lack of proper nomenclature was a significant minus.

The book is written in simple accessible language and would be a good choice for younger bird enthusiasts, public or classroom library book, or the like.

Three and a half stars, rounded up for the engaging text and beautiful illustrations.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.