Dominic F. Sherony served as a member of the New York State Avian Records Committee for 11 years, and has published and lectured on various avian subjects. He lives in Fairport, New York. Randi Minetor is the author of more than 80 books including birding field guides. She lives in Rochester, New York.

“There are many books on the natural history of birds. What distinguishes this one is its deep dive into the fossil history of birds to shed light on the lives of birds today. ... In a chatty, bullet-point style, the authors take the reader on a journey through time as birds evolved from dinosaurs and survived them to radiate all over the world... This fine primer on what makes a bird a bird is well illustrated with color photographs, charts, and tables and features a long list of references for each chapter, making it a great starting point for bird study.”—Booklist

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroductionPart I—Birds in the Distant Past1. Birds in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods2. Birds in the Paleogene PeriodPart II—The Lives of Birds3. Adaptation and Diversity4. How Birds Are Different5. Breeding6. Flight and Migration7. Vagrancy and DispersalPart III—Extraordinary Birds8. The Megafauna of the Avian World9. Hoatzin: A Window Into the Past10. Unusual BirdsPart IV—An Overview of Birds and Their Habitats11. The Classification of Birds12. Perching Birds and Forest Habitats13. Flycatchers14. Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Adaptive Radiation15. Grassland Birds16. Nectar-Feeding Birds17. Wetland Birds18. Seed–and Fruit-Eating Birds19. Trogons20. Oceanic Birds21. Shorebirds22. Birds of PreyPart V—Birds in Our World: Today and In the Future23. The Decline of Native Birds24. Can We Support Environmental Conservation?Appendix 1: Index of Latin Bird NamesAppendix 2: Glossary of TermsReferencesIndex