Feeding wild birds in America : culture, commerce, and conservation / Paul J. Baicich, Margaret A. Barker, and Carrol L. Henderson.

Includes bibliographies and index.

Foreword / by George H. Petrides Sr. -- Acknowledgments -- A note on bird names -- Introduction -- Curiosity, kindness, and protection: before 1900 -- Ongoing awareness trends -- Essentials of equipment and feeding: 1900-1909 -- "Useful birds" then and now -- Deliberate devices and appliances: 1910-1919 -- Development of the birdbath -- True grit -- Seed and feeder businesses in the roaring twenties: 1920-1929 -- Suet for the birds -- Bird feeding in hard times: 1930-1939 -- Hemp, the devil's birdseed -- Game bird feeders over the decades -- War and recovery: 1940-1949 -- Recycling and creativity, then and now -- Backyard prosperity: 1950-1959 -- Squirrel battles -- Four-season feeding -- Experimentation abounds: 1960-1969 -- A sunflower saga -- New seeds, new products: 1970-1979 -- Feeding hummingbirds over time -- Nyjer, the wonder seed -- Windows, glass, and feeding stations -- A maturing market and pastime: 1980-1989 -- Experiment goes awry -- Project feederwatch and the great backyard bird count -- Visiting hawks -- The recently arrived house finches and Eurasian collared-doves -- Bird feeding institutionalized: 1990-1999 -- Mealworm revival -- Fruits and jellies for the birds -- Nectar feeding for nonhummingbirds -- Tweaking the seeds -- Cats in the backyard -- Funding for birds and wildlife -- Bird-feeding recipes, then and now: over a century of prepared feasts -- Bird feeding in the twenty-first century: experiences and expectations -- Rarities at the feeder -- Community feeding -- The Latin American and Caribbean experience -- History lessons for modern bird feeding: some conclusions.

Today, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, more than fifty million Americans feed birds around their homes, and over the last sixty years, billions of pounds of birdseed have filled millions of feeders in backyards everywhere. Feeding Wild Birds in America tells why and how a modest act of provision has become such a pervasive, popular, and often passionate aspect of people's lives. Each chapter provides details on one or more bird-feeding development or trend including the "discovery" of seeds, the invention of different kinds of feeders, and the creation of new companies. Also wov.

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