The Birder's Bug Book

This book works from an ingenious, unstated premise: birds eat insects of every conceivable description, but most birders know surprisingly little about those insects. Waldbauer, a retired professor of entomology at the University of Illinois, offers an accessible, well-written primer on bird-bug ecology, concentrating on "context"--the role of birds in the lives of insects, and of insects in the lives of birds. Among other things, he touches on the evolution of different beak shapes and sizes; on insect defense systems such as stinging or the production of noxious chemicals; and even on the curious turnabout whereby some insect species, such as certain kinds of ants and spiders, feed on birds. This lively book belongs in every birder's library. --Gregory McNamee