Bird Count

Community Science Counts!

by Susan Edwards Richmond, Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator)

The National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count stars in this charming picture book, just right for young community scientists, bird watchers, and nature aficionados.

A young girl and her mother participate as community scientists in the Christmas Bird Count. The girl is excited when Big Al, the leader of their team, asks her to record the tally this year. Using her most important tools―her eyes and ears―she eagerly identifies and counts the birds they observe on their assigned route around town. She and her team follow the rules, noting the time of day, the habitat, the birding ID techniques used for each sighting.

Finally, they meet up with the other teams in the area to combine their totals for a Christmas Bird Count party and share stories about their observations. Sidebars tally up the birds they observe and record. This book introduces young readers to birdwatching with simple explanations of birdwatching techniques and clear descriptions of bird habitats.

Stephanie Fizer Coleman's charming illustrations add color and context to a joyful story that's sure to inspire the nature lover in everyone.

Back matter includes more information about all the birds featured in the book and about the Christmas Bird Count, the nation's longest-running community science bird project.

Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award
Mathical Honor Award
International Literacy Association Primary Fiction Award

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Science, Nature, Animals, Childrens, Christmas

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2019

About the author

Susan Edwards Richmond explored the history of the Harvard Shaker Community while poet-in-residence at the Fruitlands Museum. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She has taught writing at the Shirley Medium Correctional Facility, located on the site of another former Shaker community, and is currently on the faculty at Clark University. Her interest in the intersection of art and nature is reflected in her work with Wild Apples: a journal of nature, art, and inquiry. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Massachusetts, where she enjoys hiking and birdwatching.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't have requested this fast enough and I was so glad when I was approved. We are so fortunate in our house to have many windows to watch the birds and animals go about their daily activities. My 2 year old daughter LOVES birds. I'm happy to say this book is wonderful for her and encourages adult/child together time as well!

Ava and her mother participate in the Christmas Bird Count each year. They head out early in the morning with a group and mark down all the birds they see. The illustrations are wonderful (the birds look real) and assist in helping to cement the names to the type of bird it is.

There are so many things to love about this book. 1) An appreciation for nature and the world around us 2) I had no idea the CBC existed and I would love to become involved as a citizen scientist 3) Learning about birds 4) I loved the summary of each bird found in the book at the end. It highlighted educational things that I wasn't always aware of and lastly, 4) the author's note. I really enjoyed learning about the author's inspiration for the book and her history of the CBC!

I highly encourage you check this book out. Read it to your kids! Give it away as a gift. It's a great way to get outside (or look outside when it's too cold) and appreciate the world around us! **(I will make a quick sidenote: while this book is great for anyone, it specifically mentions birds in the Northeast US, so if you live outside that area it might not be as exciting because those birds aren't local to you. I live in Buffalo, NY so the birds present in this book are birds we see everyday!)

Thank you to Netgalley, Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC & Susan Edwards Richmond for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this adorable book!

Review Date: 5/8/19
Publication Date: 10/1/19

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting picture book about a subject I've never seen covered in a children's book before: bird counts. In Bird Count, the young protagonist, Ava, participates in the Christmas Bird Count with her mother and their friend, Big Al. Proper procedure is followed (which is interesting) and there's a growing tally that runs along the right-hand side of the pages as the trio sees or hears various birds in the world around them.

I can't really find much to complain about here. The birds are easy to pick out and match the running tally. At the end of the book, there are descriptions of each of the birds mentioned, and though I do wish there had been pictures to go with each description, I guess that's something readers could look up later. (Speaking of looking up, though, I noticed a typo in the URL for The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Hopefully that will be fixed before the final version comes out.)

This would be a great book for kids who like birds, or for readers who like books where they have to pick stuff out in the illustrations. There's lots of information here about birds, and the story might even inspire some readers to join a bird count themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Publishing Company for providing a digital ARC.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read a book about the Bird Count conducted each year at Christmas and the origin of that a while ago. In this story, Ava, her mother and their friend, Big Al, participate in the Christmas Bird Count in and around their town. Each team is given an area and the proper procedure is explained to get an accurate count. There must be at least two people to see a bird in order to count it. They often use bird songs and calls to locate the various species. The illustrations are wonderful and assist in identifying actual birds. The story takes place in the N.E. United States, so those are the birds that are in this book. In Southern Ontario, we do not see all these birds in and there are others we do see, but that didn't matter when we read this book. My grandson enjoyed this story and now he wants to know if we can go out and count birds this Christmas. I will try to be more observant and point out birds to him when we see and hear them. This is a great book for kids who like birds, or for classroom learning about birds or even the environment. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

[Milton Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book about the National Audubon Society's annual bird count. Ava and her mom have a fun day excursion with a group of people to participate in citizen science and help in the annual bird count. As the story progresses, Ava keeps a tally of all the birds they count as well as explains the rules of a bird count. The illustrations are a really great compliment to this book. Both myself and my four year old learned a lot reading this book and she had fun counting along with Ava. This serves as a great alternative winter book for kids of all ages and introduces a bird count in an easy to understand way. I definitely recommend this book to one and all!

Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Isaac Bouyack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alicia and I had a good time reading this despite her numerous mistakes pronouncing words.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of times a year, birders around the country and sometimes around the world, help conservationist and scientists by counting and recording the different types of birds they see during a specific time period. This book explores the great Christmas Bird Count.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of a young birdwatcher, an old pro at the New England Christmas bird count.

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A while back I reviewed Counting Birds: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends, which tells the story of how the long-running citizen science project called the "Christmas bird count" developed, and why it's become so important for scientists and for the birds they are aiming to protect.

Bird Count is also about the bird count, but it approaches it from a more personal angle. It tells the fictionalized story of a girl named Ava and her mom as they participate in the bird count, spending an entire wintery day watching, listening, and collecting data.

We get to see some of the methodology of counting birds at work here -- for example, a bird can only be counted if two or more people in the group see it. The route the group takes is also identified in advance so they can cover a large area. On each page, we see the tally of different types of birds as it's added to.

The "day in the life" aspect of this book helped to make the bird count come alive, and it inspired me to do some reading on The Audubon Society's website to see what kinds of counting groups are available in my area. Maybe someday we'll make this event part of our winter science education!

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

[Genevieve Trono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird Count is an amazingly informative and engaging children's picture book with the most gorgeous illustrations. Our family also lives in New England and we are big into back yard "birding". Bird Count is the story of the annual "bird count" where neighbors get together as citizen scientists to gather information about the bird species in their town.

Our two children loved reading this book with me and especially enjoyed it because all the books that Ava identified on her bird count, we are able to see around here too. They loved seeing Ava, her mom and Big Al visit the fields, woods, wetlands, neighbors, and center of town to see the different types of bird activity in those areas.

This book is the perfect balance of bird information along with a sweet and engaging story that looks at the world around us. We have already pre-ordered this book and can't wait to add a hard copy of this book to our home library collection this fall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Publishing Group for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating picture book will have young readers eager to keep their eyes and ears open for birds on their next nature walk. Ava, the little girl in this story, and her mom participate in the Christmas Bird Count. The story takes readers along with them and Al, their group leader, as they systematically make the rounds of their community while Ava keeps the official tally of the birds they see. This book will definitely inspire other young "citizen scientists" to learn more about how to identify and count the birds that are all over their own neighborhoods. The back of the book has more information on the different birds that Ava and her team counted along with information about the Christmas Bird Count and how to get involved.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story for older elementary school readers about the Christmas Bird Count. Young Ava participates with her mother and their group leader, Big Al (based on a real birder the author knows). The reader learns all the things Ava knows and learns about birds along the way, as well as the rules and process for the Bird Count. The back of the book includes a glossary of the birds they see with brief descriptions and facts about each species. My only quibble with the book is that my edition has a misprinted, incorrect web address for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; it's www.allaboutbirds.org. Lovely, colorful digital illustrations, and a meaningful work of advocacy for citizen science.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the art, I loved the narrative. I don't know how this would go over with small children (too much text? but the art is fun and colorful), but it would be great for any child interested in birds and ready to start birding.

Honestly, this would be a great book to share with an adult friend or family member who doesn't *get* what a bird count is, or someone looking to participate in a count for the first time.

My favorite illustration is the spread that shows five Canada Geese flying over the car. Kudos for the group shot of people at the end showing a variety of ages and skin tones. (Ha, and our narrator is toasting five marshmallows at once. :) )

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book about the National Audubon Society's annual bird count. Ava and her mom have a fun day excursion with a group of people to participate in citizen science and help in the annual bird count. As the story progresses, Ava keeps a tally of all the birds they count as well as explains the rules of a bird count. The illustrations are a really great compliment to this book. Both myself and my four year old learned a lot reading this book and she had fun counting along with Ava. This serves as a great alternative winter book for kids of all ages and introduces a bird count in an easy to understand way. I definitely recommend this book to one and all!

[Abby Johnson]

This beautiful, wintry picture book shows a young citizen scientist participating in the Christmas Bird Count with her mom and their team leader. Birds are drawn accurately and there's a big emphasis on the tools that citizen scientists actually use when doing bird counts - identifying birds by how they sound, how they look, and how they move. This is a super book for young birders. I love that the illustrations show their field notebook on the right side of the page as their tally of identified birds grows throughout the day.

[Gladimore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any bird lover would love this book. It is full of bird species, what they look like and what they sound like. So much information packed into such a small book. I learned many things about birds, I had no idea about some of the subtle differences in some birds, such as a crow and a raven. Fun educational read, just wished I liked birds more.
#Netgalley

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ava joins a team to participate in the Christmas Bird Count, carefully recording birds seen by citizen scientists all over. How many birds will Ava see?

It's a fun introduction to birding and citizen science for our youngest readers.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/29/2020 ~ Fictional story with lots of science (citizen scientists, observation, tools, data) and math (counting, tally marks). The information was incorporated naturally and (mostly) didn't detract from the story. I enjoyed the arc with the raven.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read of the year and I read it with Isaac :) it’s a perfect book to get kids interested in birding!

[Stephanie (Gorelenore) Cover2CoverBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming soon. Visit www.cover2coverblog.blogspot.com

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for young naturalists. I love the subject matter, the way the text is written, the way the book is formatted, and the illustrations. I usually do The Great Backyard Bird Count with my kids in February, and though I'm not sure we'll be able to this year (I'll be 8 months pregnant with twins by then!) we will definitely be reading this book to help familiarize them with the birds we might see, even if we can't go out and count. This would be a great book to pair with A Year of Birds or Birdsongs, two of my other favorite bird-themed picture books.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 7 year old bird lover, Fiona, who keeps logs of the birds she sees each month in her copy of Wild Kids Magazine (a free printable nature magazine I put online). She also takes part in bird counts with her dad, so I knew this would be a hit.

The subject is a little girl who takes part in the Great Christmas Bird Count by going out birding with her mom and a local man who is another bird lover. They record all the birds they see and hear as they drive to various areas. She writes each bird and puts a tally next to it. Kids are introduced to not just the looks but the sounds and behaviors of birds like redtailed hawks, catbirds, ravens, mockingbirds, mallards and turkey vultures.

We live in a more rural area and maybe that's why, but I never heard that you were supposed to take part with a group of other people and have a "circle leader." We don't get together with other groups at the end of the count for a party either, which sounds like fun for people in busy areas. We also follow slightly different rules for how to count birds. For instance, in the book they see 5 Canadian geese and mark them down, and then later they see 5 and don't mark them because it's the same number so it may be the same 5, whereas we follow the rule that you just mark down the highest number of any type of birds you see at one time, and we don't require that more than one person in the group has to see each bird you count.

The book got a little monotonous at times but provided good information. Kids who are not interested in birds or taking part in a bird count may get a little glassy eyed. The illustrations are sweet and well done. The bird information and illustrations are great.

This would be a great addition to a nature study library and is also simply a fun read-aloud.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird Count by Susan Edwards Richmond, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, PICTURE BOOK Peachtree, 2019. $18. 9781561459544

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Ava gets to be part of the Christmas Bird Count! She's done this before and knows the rules - Count every bird you see or hear, don't count a bird twice and 2 or more people must see or hear the bird in order to count it. So, starting very early in the morning, Ava and her mom and Big Al check their assigned areas and tally the birds.

So well designed, each bird Ava sees is beautifully illustrated and the right number are on the page, so the child can count right along with her. Ava keeps a tally of the birds - and explains to the reader which bird it is - and the notebook list gets longer as more birds are counted. The reader learns about the birds as they are spotted, but for further information on the featured birds, there is an appendix and author's note at the end. A quiet bedtime story (don't scare the birds!) it would also be a great introduction to bird watching. I want to go outside and start counting them myself - and I won't go alone, buying this book with a set of binoculars for my grandkids.

Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Denise Riehle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird Count written by Susan Edwards Richmond and illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman is a wonderful book about how to be a citizen scientist and the importance about participating to help nature. This book is suggested for an age range of 4 to 8 years and a grade level of 1 to 2, however, I promise that even adults will love this book.

Ava and her mother are getting ready to join in the Christmas Bird Count as citizen scientists. The Christmas Bird Count is a real event with Audubon and after you read this book, and get inspired to be a citizen scientist yourself,you can get all the information for this event here; https://www.audubon.org/conservation/.... As a new birder myself, I was amazed at how much helpful information is in this book!

Bird Count - The Story

Ava and her mom have been doing this event for a while now. They have joined a team in their community and Big Al is the leader. This year, Ava is so excited because she is going to be the one to tally all their sightings. The book does a wonderful job of showing what Ava is doing, by having a running notebook graphic on the right side of the book to show all the birds they have seen and heard. Big Al reiterates the birding ID techniques they use;

Count every bird you see or hear
Make sure at least 2 people see or hear it
Don't count any bird twice

As the story goes on, each of these techniques come to life, for example Ava sees a V of birds flying over their car and she identifies them as Canada Geese they agree that there are 5 birds in this V formation. Later on in the story Ava sees Canada geese in a field and quickly counts them for a total of 5. Mom points out that this is the same number they counted flying before, and these are probably the same group now that they have landed. So they don't include them in their count again.

Details on Doing a Bird Count

The story is easy to read and understand, but it packs in so much information on what you do on a bird count and how to identify birds. Ava is hoping to see a raven that she had seen in previous years. We think that she has finally found her bird, but she points out that this black bird is saying Caw Caw which makes it a crow. She explains that Ravens make a croaking sound. You'll have to read the book to see if she finds her Raven to include in this years Bird Count.

The back of the book contains even more information about the species that were featured in their bird count. So not only do you have a wonderful, and beautifully illustrated story, but you have reference material that can be used as the reader starts their own adventure in bird watching. I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves birds and perhaps they can become the next citizen scientist to make a difference!

[Mrs. Walker Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from reading this informative picture book!
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Bird Count is a picture book inspired by the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. This event is an annual census of birds that involves ordinary people becoming ‘citizen scientists’ who tally birds during the holiday season. This data is passed onto the bird scientists (ornithologists) who analyze the status of endangered species and the effects of climate change on our bird population.
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This story follows a young girl who is thrilled to be a citizen scientist and take part in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Readers can follow her teams bird count through the book in the sidebar as she keeps a tally of the birds she has identified.
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This book is perfect for introducing the topic of birdwatching to young readers. It encourages curiosity, appreciation for the environment, observational skills, numeracy skills and highlights the citizen science movement.
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💡During reading, refer to the back of the book to learn more about the species of birds that Ava encounters during her bird count.
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💡During reading, take out a notepad like Ava and keep track of the bird count by using tally marks and counting up the totals at the end of the book (Numeracy connection).
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💡After reading, use the provided websites to learn more about the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and find out more information on the nearest bird count region and how to get involved!
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💡After reading, take the tally of each bird species and turn the information into a graph. Ask, ��which bird did Ava observe the most? The least?” (Numeracy connection).
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💡After reading, go on a nature walk and observe the birds on your trail (and take a tally!)
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I have a new appreciation for all the birds I see on my day to day travels as I think of all the work that is being done behind the scenes to keep this species safe and thriving.Susan Edwards Richmond

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5

A young girl, Ava, joins her family on the annual Christmas Bird Count in and around her New England community. The leader of the group, Big Al, asks her to keep a record of what her team sees (and hears). It is a big honor for Ava and she takes on the role with excitement and energy. Ava knows to use her most important tools - her eyes and ears - when identifying birds. She also looks forward to the end of the day, when the teams get together to add up all their totals and to celebrate with a party.

The book nicely describes what a Christmas Bird Count is like, with the spotting and identifying, logging, and moving on to find more areas where birds might be flocking. Author Susan Edwards Richmond clearly understands the Christmas Bird Count and tries to generate some interest to the child.

As someone who has been on a Christmas Bird Count or two, I will note, however, that 'excitement' is not the state of the day. It's a lot of driving, scanning for bird movement, and then trying to identify the distant bird. True birders (I know a few of them) may get excited by what they see, but even they don't maintain that excitement the way that Ava does here.

The artwork by Stephanie Fizer Coleman is cheery and appropriate for youngsters.

I don't know that this book will sway many children to wanting to take part in the annual bird count, but I can imagine a lot of birders buying this book for their children and grand-children.

Looking for a good book? Bird Count is a children's picture book by Susan Edwards Richmond and Stephanie Fizer Coleman which describes the annual Christmas Bird Count and a young girl's adventure as she joins in on the bird counting day.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some youngsters will be inspired by this story of a young girl's involvement in the Christmas Bird Count to become citizen scientists themselves. Featuring digital illustrations set against plentiful white space, the picture book follows Ava as she and her mother join Big Al and others in their community to count the birds in the area. Ava, her mother, and Big Al form one team and set off in search of birds. With Ava doing the tallying, they record the ones they spot. The rules are that the bird must be identified by at least two individuals, and Ava is hopeful that she will spot the raven she saw last year. (As a side note, I didn't realize that the count required verification by another individual since I thought one person spotting a bird was enough to have it recorded.) I liked how the right-hand pages showed Ava's tally marks and listed the birds and how the team realized that one flock of geese had already been counted. Moments like these add authenticity to the story and help readers feel that they are on the ground with Ava in search of those birds. The day ends with food and all of the records being given to the circle chief who is in charge of reporting the numbers to the National Audubon Society. Not only do the illustrations show birds engaged in various activities and in different spots, but the back matter provides additional information about the species found during Ava's outing. Readers won't want to miss the Author's Note, which shares her experiences in birdwatching and the inspiration for Big Al. The note and the picture book are great reminders that it's never too soon to nurture an appreciation for nature in someone.

[June Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book detailing the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count {CBC} held during the Christmas holiday season each year. The text tells the who, what, where, when, why, and how of this valuable event held in the Western Hemisphere. I love birds, and I learned a lot about the birds and this event by reading this book.

The author has included excellent back matter information, also. The Author's Note relates her experience as a participant in this event for the past fifteen years and explains the purpose for the event in more depth. Ms. Richmond includes a list of Resources and a detailed list of the birds counted in a typical CBC, which is organized like a glossary.

The illustrator has done a fabulous job of capturing the mood and emotions of the main character, Ava, along with presenting excellent images of the various birds and the scenes included in the story. The idea of including an image of the notebook page that Ava is using to record the tally for the bird count along the right side of some of the pages keeps readers engaged and involved in the story.

I highly recommend this book for teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, child care/youth group/scout leaders, and fans of ornithology of any age!

I was allowed access to a digital copy of this book for my own personal use. I was not compensated in any way to read and/or review this book for this site or any other site.

##############

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bird count is a beautifully crafted picture book about the Christmas Bird Count, an annual census of birds run by the National Audobon Society. Told through the point of view of a young girl, we see how she and her count circle tally and identify all of the birds they see in their neighborhood.

Bird count is skillfully crafted with gentle, friendly illustrations as well as the thoughtful detail of using her tally notebook on each page. This little detail will help the reader tag along on her adventure and keep track of the count as well. The simple use of bolding of the types of birds in the text is later used to connect the reader to more information in the back of the book about each bird. Simple details like this, elevate this book to the next level.

One highlight of the book is the two page spread of the Canada Geese flying overhead. It is a great use of perspective (looking down on her car) and helps to send home the idea that birds are all around and that you need to use your eyes and ears at all times to find them.

The author ends the charming story with an author's note, further reading and websites. This is a very well done picture book with great attention to details. Highly recommend.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ava gets to be part of the Christmas Bird Count! She's done this before and knows the rules - Count every bird you see or hear, don't count a bird twice and 2 or more people must see or hear the bird in order to count it. So, starting very early in the morning, Ava and her mom and Big Al check their assigned areas and tally the birds.

So well designed, each bird Ava sees is beautifully illustrated and the right number are on the page, so the child can count right along with her. Ava keeps a tally of the birds - and explains to the reader which bird it is - and the notebook list gets longer as more birds are counted. The reader learns about the birds as they are spotted, but for further information on the featured birds, there is an appendix and author's note at the end. A quiet bedtime story (don't scare the birds!) it would also be a great introduction to bird watching. I want to go outside and start counting them myself - and I won't go alone, buying this book with a set of binoculars for my grandkids.

For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young girl eagerly identifies and counts the birds she observes around her town during the New England Christmas Bird Count.
Young Ava and her mother prepare to participate as "citizen scientists" in the Christmas Bird Count. She is excited when Big Al, the leader of their team, asks her to record the tally this year. Using her most important tools--her eyes and ears--and the birding ID techniques she's learned, Ava eagerly identifies and counts the birds they observe on their assigned route around the town. At the end of the day, they meet up with the other teams in the area for a Christmas Bird Count party, where they combine their totals and share stories about their observations.
This informative story by author Susan Edwards Richmond, coupled with Stephanie Fizer Coleman's charming depictions of birds in their winter habitats, is the perfect book to introduce young readers to birdwatching. The text offers simple explanations of the identification methods used by birdwatchers and clear descriptions of bird habitats, and a section in the back provides more information about the birds featured in the book and the Christmas Bird Count.