Biologist Bridget Stutchbury takes readers along on her escapades
as a bird detective, stalking subjects through the woods for hours,
taking blood samples from nestlings for DNA analysis, and mounting
miniature tracking devices on tiny backs. She captures several young
white-and-brown male purple martins and paints them the darker color of
mature males to see if the painted youngsters are more successful than
their unaltered peers in wresting away nest sites from older males. They
are! The Private Lives of Birds is
a treasure trove of fascinating insights into bird behavior. But
understanding the social lives of birds does much more than slake our
curiosity. Aware that many birds will not occupy an area unless other
birds are already there, biologists used mirrors and two-dimensional
cutouts to lure Atlantic puffins to establish colonies off the coast of
Maine, getting curious puffins to visit the site and linger long enough
to encounter a live bird. As Stutchbury says, "Trying to save birds
without understanding what makes them tick is a shot in the dark ... birds
are highly social, and their social needs are at least as important as
their physical needs."