Feed the Birds

Book excerpt: Peanuts for Jays, cut-up apples for Waxwings, fruit jelly for Orioles, suet for Nuthatches, dried corn for Pheasants, and soaked raisins for Bluebirds and Mockingbirds: Now you can attract the birds of your choice by serving them the food they really love.Feed the Birds shows how to make your yard the birds' favorite spot. The authors are lifelong birders who've tested different foods, devised recipes, constructed innovative feeders, and taken extensive notes based on years of observation and feeding.The guide covers the four feeding types--ground feeders, tree-clingers, birds who like a tabletop, and birds who'll eat anywhere--and describes the rules of flocking, the pecking order, and how to keep squirrels away. An extensive, 100-item chart covers the use of both store-bought and wild foods, plus the table scraps and leftovers birds crave.With over 20 recipes using seeds, grains, and suet, a sturdy mesh suet bag, and plans for custom-made feeding devices, Feed the Birds will keep your feathered friends coming back again and again. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. 135,000 copies in print.