In 365 day-by-day sketches, Laura Erickson brings more than 250 birds right into your living room-from rare hawk owls to elusive sedge wrens to plastic lawn flamingos. Light-hearted, yet authoritative, For the Birds is brimming with fascinating birdlore.

Did you know that you can mail three chickadees with a single stamp? That Black-billed Cuckoos flourish on a diet of army worms? That winter finches are especially attracted to feeders offering grit and eggshells?

Enjoy Laura’s entertaining observations and record your own in For the Birds-an uncommon guide.

Laura Erickson’s popular radio program, “For the Birds,” airs on several independent public stations. Laura, who is working toward a Ph.D. in avian physiology, received the 1991 Frances F. Roberts Award from the Cooper Ornithological Society for her research on daytime warbler migration and the 1989 Conservation Award from the Raptor Research and Rehabilitation Center in St. Paul.

A licensed bird rehabilitator and past president of the Duluth Audubon Society, Laura lives in Duluth with her husband and three children.

"Laura Erickson writes about birds as if they were members of her family, individuals whose habits, preferences and personalities are intimately known and appreciated."—Pam Leschak, General Manager KAXE, Northern Community Radio

"Everything ornithological, expressed in simple, down-to-earth language with plenty of good humor thrown in, too."—Paul Schmitz, KUMD Station Manager

"Laura Erickson’s humor, sensitivity, and knowledge will amuse, delight, and inform both the amateur and professional birdwatcher."—Ann Linnea Schimpf, co-author, Teaching Kids to Love the Earth

"For the Birds gives laughter one moment, tears the next, and food for thought throughout."—Gary Duke, Ph.D., University of Minnesota Raptor Center