The book features color paintings and short descriptions of 50 birds you are likely to see where you live -- birds like the barn swallow, cardinal, goldfinch, nighthawk, green heron, and yellow warbler. The 50-page hardcover book with illustrations by wildlife artist Bob Hines is a great first bird book for kids or for people who are interested in birds but dont want a complex field guide.
You can add to your gift by purchasing a good quality birdfeeder or a birdbath, and then see how many of the "50 birds" come to your yard.
And while youre enjoying the birds, you might want to know that they are there -- in part -- because the American people have gone to a lot of trouble to conserve them. In fact, in 1993 the United States will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its major conservation law that protects birds: the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Before this farsighted law was enacted in 1918, egrets and many other birds were being slaughtered to provide feathers for ladies hats and other clothing. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act ended the indiscriminate killing of birds and was the cornerstone of later laws that established hundreds of National Wildlife Refuges for migrating birds.
You can order Fifty Birds of Town and City for $7.50 from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock Number 024-010-00382-1).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
