One day, amidst the usual chirps, tweets, and caws, a little brown bird decides to try singing a new song and sets off an interesting reaction.

An illustrated tribute to birds of all kinds and the funny, fascinating things that they do.

Here are the best stories about our avian friends from the public radio show BirdNote, each brief essay illuminating the life, habits, or songs of a particular bird. Why do geese fly in a V-formation? Why are worms so good for you -- if you're a robin? Which bird calls, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?" From wrens that nest in cactuses to gulls that have a strange red dot on their bills -- these digestible and fascinating bird stories are...

This is a text about experiencing songbirds, in all their ways, as singers, migrants, victims of predation and as organisms with complicated natural lives. It is also of personal experience where the author is on a journey of discovery.

"A comprehensive field guide that uses an innovative Sound Index to allow readers to quickly identify unfamiliar songs and calls of birds in western North America"--

Presents the songs and calls of 551 species found in western North America.

Throughout the day and into the night various birds sing their songs, beginning with the woodpecker who taps a pole ten times and counting down to the hummingbird who calls once.