No comments about Cockatiels (The Birdkeepers' Guides).

2 comments about Attracting and Feeding Backyard Birds (Animal Planet Pet Care Library).

1. I really enjoyed reading this book.
   
   The author, Carol Frischmann has a great way of dividing the birds by habits or activities, which makes it easy to find the bird by watching what it is doing such as clinging to a tree or mostly on the ground.
   
   For each of the 50 birds listed, she lists birds that it might be confused with due to similarities and indicates the differences that will help you identify the bird you are watching. She has also included pictures of these birds and lets the readers know where in North America that these birds can be found.
   
   The author gives ideas on making your yard bird friendly and how to attract the species of birds you are interested in.
   
   This is a great book for someone just starting out in birdwatching or birdfeeding that can get the whole family involved.



2. Great book for anyone wanting to know what the heck kind of bird is sitting at your feeder, OR for anyone simply wanting to attract as many birds to their yard as possible. Great pictures, easy to read -- terrific for the family.
   
   From the Everette Harald --
   
   Portland, Ore.'s Carol Frischmann has written a new book that's good for the family with children or beginner birders because it takes an ultra-basic approach.
   "Attracting and Feeding Backyard Birds" ($10, TFH/Animal Planet) is a primer that includes the top 50 feeder species, how to bring birds to your yard, experimenting with feeders, bird behavior, and birders' backyard bird activities.
   Colorfully and heavily illustrated, "Attracting" offers nest box dimensions for five species, the meaning of binocular numbers, feather basics, bird food information, seasonal behaviors, nuisance birds and more, all in small bites for a solid general introduction.

No comments about Parrots (Mini fact finders).

No comments about Encyclopedia of Aviculture: Keeping and Breeding Birds.

5 comments about Budgie: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.

1. Julie Rach's BUDGIE is an informative and useful guide for the care and preservation of your new Budgie pet, and probably the only book you will need for Budgie pet care. Rach has included a short history of this little Australian parrot including a discussion of the variants bred in England and America. Budgies in the wild come in a few colors, but the colors of the varieties are numerous. Apparently, Budgies are like popcorn, its hard to have only one, so if you are thinking of building an aviary full of Budgies, get THE PROPER CARE OF BUDGIES -- a more comprehensive book than Rach's --- that includes a more in-depth discussion of genetics and breeding.
   
   Rach offers much practical information on the caging, feeding and care of "pet" budgies, including a few medical tricks, such as how to give your bird an oral medicine. Speaking of the photographs (there is one showing a Budgie receiving medication from an oral syringe), many were produced by Renee Stockdale, whose photos show up in other books on Budgies and Parakeets. Although Rach says Budgies should be housed in cages with bar spacing 7/16" or less, I noticed the same cage with bars ½" apart are shown in many of the photos, so either the photo editor was careless or Rach did not edit the book.
   
   I enjoyed reading the text and looking at the photos, and recommend this book as the one you will need unless you are becoming a breeder. The photos( taken in 1997) appear in other books on this topic, but Rach has covered all the bases for most Budgie owners.



2. This guide to budgies was published in 1997. Its author is Julie Rach. It totals 126 pages. There are ten chapters. Numerous color photos are contained--they are helpful. Also, informative sidebars are included. Examples of topics covered are the budgie's ancestry, budgie selection, care, cage selection, toys for the budgie, feeding, grooming, health, feathers, senses, teaching the budgie how to talk, and taming the budgie. No information on breeding is provided. A page is set aside to demonstrate--with a color illustration and lines pointing to the corresponding anatomical parts--the external features of the budgie, which is useful. This guide to budgies is recommendable.



3. I can't think of a better, more accessible book for first time budgie (parakeet) owners. In 123 pages, Rach, a former editor of BIRD TALK, covers a wide range of topics, from the history of the budgie as a pet to teaching it to talk. She covers health problems and how to prevent them, proper nutrition, cage size, taming a new bird, and grooming. The section on parakeet behavior was, for me, the most entertaining, as Rach describes the gestures and habits common to most budgies and what each means. The color photographs scattered throughout are mostly unneccessary, but they break up the text. (Most people aren't interested in seeing a person covering a cage.) The pictures of budgies themselves are worth it, however, especially since most people reading the book will already be enamored of this acrobatic pet.

   Well-seasoned budgie owners and breeders won't find much new here, but newcomers to bird ownership will be delighted. Even if you are only thinking of purchasing a bird, read this book to understand what will be required of you to give a new parakeet a safe and healthy home.




4. This book covers Budgie basics,and just the basics. I was left feeling like I only had about half of the information that I needed to know.

   The good news is that it is very easy to read, however if you're only buying one budgie book, I suggest picking one with a bit more substance.




5. This is a very detailed little book with plenty of info on parakeet care. It guides the reader from bird purchase to pet care, even to the death of your pet. Great layout and great pictures. It will also make a great gift for children who keep budgies as pets.

2 comments about A Guide To Eclectus Parrots: Their Management, Care and Breeding.

1. Published by Australian Birdkeeper, a highly respected publisher of avian books and magazines. This book is subtitled "Their Management, Care & Breeding" and it covers those topics quite well. It does not have extensive information on identifying subspecies. Contents: Introduction; Health of the Eclectus Parrot (Individual Characteristics; The Healthy Eclectus; Nutrition; Feather Picking; Health Aspects of the Newly Aquired Eclectus; Stress Reduction; Stress Reduction By Good Aviary Management; Stress Reduction By a Varied Diet; Seed Sprouting Procedure; Recognition of Stress and Illness; Breeding Success and Stress Reduction; Breeding Failure and Infertility; Vitamin A Deficiency; Breeding Failure and Disease; Breeding Failure and Incompatibility; Breeding Failure and Physical Problems); The Main Diseases of the Eclectus (Symptoms of Disease; Plumage Problems; Respiratory Problems; Gastrointestinal Symptoms; Eye Symptoms; Main Diseases in Adults; Diseases in Baby Eclectus; Symptoms of Disease in the Hand Reared Eclectus; Health of the Pet Eclectus); Brief Word on the Incubation of Eclectus Eggs; Management (Housing - Suspended Cages, Aviaries; Feeding; Breeding - Compatible Pairs, Mating, Nest Boxes, Egg Laying, Hatching and Chick Development); Artificial Incubation; Hand Rearing Eclectus Parrots - Bird Nursery, Brooders, Eclectus Chicks, Containers, Temperature, Feeding, Weighing, Weaning, Stress, Dietary Essentials); Eclectus As Pets. Highly recommeneded.



2. This book does have some good information some pretty good photography as well showing health problems to look for as well as some very beautiful healthy birds. There is some good information on diseases well worth reading. It is however rather s short book for the price.

   The book does need a good editor for the next time it is published. The reader will find the same sentence pasted into the text over and over I would guess as the result of abuse of a word processor.

1 comments about The Ostrich: Biology, Production and Health.

1. This was the most useless book I've ever bought. It had no real information about Ostriches that could be used by anyone interested in them. It was basically a survey of how Ostriches were raised around the world, but with no information on which techniques were good or bad, and nothing on what worked well or not. Anyone truly interested in knowing about how to raise ostriches appropriately would better invest their money and time to visit an ostrich breeding/raising farm and ask the farmer yourself. This book was a waste of money and time.

No comments about Exhibition Poultry Keeping.

1 comments about Canary Breeding for Beginners - A Practical Guide to the Cult of Canary Breeding, Designed Specially for the Use of the Beginner in the Hobby..

1. I wouldn't recommend this as a reference book, it is too outdated. Mine doesn't have a date but it is before refrigeration, so that tells you something. But it is highly of interest to the avid canary breeder as a collectible and to see how far we have come in the "cult" of canary breeding, as the book calls it....

3 comments about You and Your Pet Bird (You & Your).

1. I think the other reviewers have been a bit harsh. The book is a good resource. It gives general information on a variety of common birds. I think it would be particularly helpful to those new to birdkeeping. It has detailed instructions on cage selection, breeding information, and first aid. P.S. ask your vet about grit



2. I liked this book because it had a lot of info but and neat bird breeds. But when I was looking for some info on a VERY common bird it wasn't there. If you just want the general info this is great but not if your'e looking for what kind of bird is right for you. And some of the info is out of date. it says you should use grit and you SHOULD NOT USE GRIT WITH YOU BIRDS!



3. Color photos and discriptions of a broad range of birds and covers basic bird health, training, care, breeding and housing. Helpful for choosing a bird, but not a complete resource.