The Hummingbirds' Gift - by Sy Montgomery (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of the "fascinating...entertaining" (The Daily Beast) National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus, a charmingly perfect gem of a book about the most exquisite and extraordinary of winged creatures--hummingbirds.

As one of the most beautiful and intriguing birds found in nature, hummingbirds fascinate people around the world. The lightest birds in the sky, hummingbirds are capable of incredible feats, such as flying backwards, diving at speeds of sixty-one MPH, and beating their wings more than sixty times a second. Miraculous creatures, they are also incredibly vulnerable when they first emerge from their eggs. That's where Brenda Sherburn comes in.

With tenderness and patience, she rescues abandoned hummingbirds and nurses them back to health until they can fly away and live in the wild. In The Hummingbird's Gift, the extraordinary care that Brenda provides her peanut-sized patients is revealed and, in the process, shows us just how truly amazing hummingbirds are. With Sy Montgomery's signature "joyful passion" (Library Journal), and including sixteen pages of gorgeous color photos, this beautifully written and inspiring little book celebrates the profound gift that hummingbirds are to our planet and is the ultimate gift for nature lovers and bird watchers everywhere.

Review Quotes

"This slim book, centered on two abandoned hummingbirds who are nurtured back to health, is ideal for garden reading." --Washington Post, "Feel-good books to brighten your summer"

"A hummingbird book that's like them--zippy and fun...[It] will warm your heart while making you into an armchair ornithologist. " -Associated Press

"An eloquent primer on hummingbirds in myth and natural science, and the history of people learning about birds...[an] engaging work of popular science." --Library Journal

"Montgomery's bright, richly illustrated chronicle stirs renewed appreciation for human empathy, skill, and wonder and a miraculous winged species." --Booklist

About the Author

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, adventurer, and author of more than thirty acclaimed books of nonfiction for adults and children, including The Hummingbirds' Gift, The Hawk's Way, the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus, and most recently, Of Time and Turtles, which was a New York Times bestseller. The recipient of numerous honors, including lifetime achievement awards from the Humane Society and the New England Booksellers Association, she lives in New Hampshire with her husband, writer Howard Mansfield, and a border collie.