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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Blue Honeycreepers: Volume 1 Review

I have a confession to make: I am a total bird nerd!  I love birds and everything about them.  I'm really just a beginner, but that just means there is so much more information out there for me to learn.  My interest in birds began when I was younger and my dad would take my brothers and I out on nature walks.  I feel blessed to have woods in my backyard, which always meant there was plenty of wildlife to observe.

When I stumbled across the Blue Honeycreepers: Volume 1 book by Deborah Carney and Vinny O'Hare, I was interested in learning more because I don't know much at all about Honeycreepers.  This coffee table book is full of gorgeous photographs and information about Red-legged and Yellow-legged Honeycreepers.

I learned that "Blue" Honeycreepers are actualy referred to by the color of their legs, and sometimes known as Sugarbirds.  Deborah titled the book "Blue" because of the brilliant blue plumage that male Honeycreepers possess.  Their scientific names are Cyanerpes cyaneus (Red-legged) and Cyanerpes caeruleus (Yellow-legged).  I also learned that the main reason why I had never heard of them before is because they're indigenous to tropical areas from southern Mexico to Peru, Bolivia, central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba.  I'm a resident of western New York and have never been outside of the country other than north to Canada, so no Honeycreeper sightings for me!

The photographs in this book really impressed me.  I also enjoy photography and consider myself to be at the intermediate level.  I've shot backyard birds before, and it's no easy feat.  You need to have high-quality equipment and a trained eye to be able to catch birds living out their natural tendencies.  The Honeycreepers remind me a bit of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds I see frequently because they eat similar foods: nectars, fruits, and insects.


Bottom Line: I really enjoyed looking through the PDF version of Blue Honeycreepers!  I would love to get my hands on a print copy, because I bet the photographs are even more beautiful up close on the page.  The book is the perfect mix of informative text and lovely pictures.

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