Bird Wise by Pamela M. Hickman, illustrations by Judie Shore, 1988.

This is a beginning guide to birds and bird watching for kids. I thought that the guide was very helpful with nice, detailed illustrations. The book explains the appearance, biology, and lives of birds and offers activities to help readers understand and interact with birds.

The first section in the book is about the appearance and body parts of birds. It explains how different birds have differently-shaped beaks and feet and different types of feathers and how the differences help each type of bird eat the foods they like and live in the places where they live. One of the activities for this section is about how to start a feather collection. The book also explains that different birds have different styles of flying.

The section about how birds live explain about different types of bird nests and how they migrate and raise their young. The book explains different methods for making bird feeders and bird houses.

The book profiles certain specific types of birds, including owls (there is an activity about dissecting owl pellets, which I had to do when I was in elementary school), gulls, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers.

In the section about bird watching, the book offers tips for what to look for to identify a bird’s type. It also explains how to make bird blinds to avoid being seen and how to recognize types of bird songs.

The book also contains other helpful information, like how to care for injured birds and how to plant a garden that will attract birds. It also includes a board game that emphasizes some of the lessons about birds in the book.

Overall, I was pleased with the range of information in the book. It was interesting and well-presented.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.