Introduction Welcome to the buzzing and beautiful world of hummingbirds and butterflies. These two types of creatures may not be related taxonomically; after all, hummingbirds are birds, and butterflies are insects. But to those of us who love them, they are related in several ways. Hummingbirds and butterflies are experts at flying, they can be quite colorful in appearance, and they are easily attracted to our yards, gardens, and even our patios and windowsills. This book will help you enhance your enjoyment of hummingbirds and butterflies, no matter where you live in North America. We will guide you along the path to attracting more of these delightful creatures and to identifying them when you see them. My coauthor for this book is Connie Toops, a lifelong naturalist, knowledgeable gardener, talented photographer, and the author of many books and articles on natural history topics. Connie has a special interest in gardening for wildlife, so she was the perfect coauthor for this project. Connie wrote the text for all of the butterfly chapters, as well as the chapters "Plants for Hummingbirds" and "A Hummer Garden Plan." She also contributed many of the photographs in the book. I wrote all of the hummingbird chapters as well as some of the front and back matter of the book. We hope you'll enjoy Hummingbirds and Butterflies, which we're proud to contribute as a volume in the legendary Peterson Field Guide series. --Bill Thompson III Excerpted from Hummingbirds and Butterflies by Bill Thompson III, Connie Toops All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
