{"id":17350,"date":"2016-09-26T03:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T07:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=17350"},"modified":"2016-09-25T21:52:42","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T01:52:42","slug":"appreciating-the-unnoticed-yet-commonplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2016\/09\/26\/appreciating-the-unnoticed-yet-commonplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Wildlife\u2014Celebrating the Commonplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

A review of Field Guide to Urban Wildlife: Common Animals of Cities & Suburbs How They Adapt & Thrive<\/strong> by Julie Feinstein. 2011. Stackpole Books. ISBN978-0-8117-0585-1. 453 pages. Buy the book.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

While\u00a0it may have set a Guiness record for longest subtitle, Julie Feinstein\u2019s\u00a0Field Guide to Urban Wildlife<\/em> caused me to reminisce about a birding class I taught many years ago. It was an in-service teacher\u2019s workshop for novice birders. Having worked in the field with beginning birders for several years, I had become all too familiar with the, \u201coh, that\u2019s just a\u2026\u201d. Which meant, of course, that the individual had written the bird off with a shrug and a superficial knowledge of the bird\u2019s field marks, habitat, behavior, and individuality.<\/p>\n

“Field Guide to Urban Wildlife”\u00a0is replete with Feinstein’s sense of wonder, which cannot fail to rub off on her readers.<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n

For the class, I decided that we would not name any bird throughout\u00a0the daylong workshop. Instead, each time we saw another member of that species, we would assign it the same number. We followed that rigorous protocol all\u00a0day, even though it was, at times, excruciatingly difficult to resist naming the bird.<\/p>\n

By day\u2019s end, we had accumulated a list of 20 species, each entry containing detailed descriptions of field marks, habitat, and behavior. Never again would those teachers mistake a Spotted Towhee for a Robin based on a cursory look at the bird. And never again, I hoped, would they say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s just a Robin\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"cover-field-guide-to-urban-wildlife\"<\/p>\n

After reading Field Guide to Urban Wildlife,<\/em> I cannot imagine Julie Feinstein ever saying, \u201cOh, that\u2019s just a\u2026\u201d; to Feinstein, nothing is common. She makes that very clear from the outset in her introduction, writing, \u201cThough urban animals live among us, sometimes even inside our homes, they largely go unnoticed. They are too commonplace. Yet there are moments, watching a fox in the backyard, discovering a centipede in the bathtub, or finding a bat asleep in the garage, when we wonder about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This book is replete with her sense of wonder, which cannot fail to rub off on her readers, no matter how jaded they may be by the so-called \u201ccommonplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book will be equally appreciated by any \u201curban naturalist\u201d, whether a rank amateur or seasoned professional, as Feinstein’s field observations and incredibly well-documented research reveal fascinating and illuminating factoids that are by turns humorous and horrifying. Her writing provides us with detailed life histories of everyday urban critters that are also replete with fun trivia, much of it gleaned from extensive literature searches. Meticulous research is Feinstein’s forte\u2014unsurprising, given her professional position at the American Museum of Natural History and her own\u00a0list of\u00a0scientific publications.<\/p>\n

One example of the obscure details common throughout the book is the revelation that opossums have a maximum land speed of 4 mph and sleep 18 to 20 hours daily, enjoying five hours of REM sleep in the process. She cites another researcher who discovered that taking two male mice and \u201canointing one of them with a third male\u2019s urine resulted in the anointed mouse starting a fight with its former partner.\u201d\u00a0And,\u00a0under an ultraviolet light, \u201cmouse urine glows in the dark like psychedelic art.\u201d We also learn that bathing your dog in tomato juice is not an effective remedy for the dog’s regrettable encounter with the neighborhood skunk. Fortunately, she follows that bit of information, having delved into Chemical Engineering News<\/em><\/a>, with something that actually works to \u201cde-skunk\u201d your dog.<\/p>\n

\"young-squirrel-photo-mike-houck-dsc_0197\"
A young squirrel. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While we all are familiar with the generally friendly, but sometimes fraught, human\/squirrel relationship\u2014particularly between humans and the fox and Eastern gray squirrels, which are both the bane of every backyard bird feeder\u2014few readers will know that Ronald Reagan routinely fed squirrels around the White House; indeed, the First Family featured squirrels in their 1984 Christmas cards. President Eisenhower, on the other hand, trapped and deported the squirrels to Maryland after they marred the presidential putting green with myriad holes. Feinstein goes on to describe squirreling counters with other presidents, including Carter, George H. W. Bush, and the Clinton clan, which, in \u201can era of appeasement\u201d, gardeners provided with \u201cpeanut-filled feeders on the South lawn and Rose Garden to draw squirrels away from flower bulbs.\u201d Interesting tidbits aside Feinstein also provides in-depth descriptions of common urban wildlife biology, ecology, and life histories. Such is the case with her descriptions of the fox and Eastern gray squirrels, including a detailed account of their interactions in North America and their invasion of England, where Eastern grays were introduced in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n

\"turkey-vulture-sunning-photo-mike-houck-dsc_0969\"
A Turkey Vulture suns itself. “Field Guide to Urban Wildlife” details many of this species’ interesting adaptations. Photo: Mike Houck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Feinstein goes into great detail with one of the most common phenomenon that face parents accompanying their children to urban ponds\u2014\u201c forced extrapair copulations\u201d, or, to put it more bluntly, repeated gang rape of female mallards. While flummoxed parents may not be appreciably assuaged by the information, Feinstein provides detailed information as to the evolutionary strategy for this behavior. She has a great section on Turkey Vultures, including why they defecate on their legs, why they employe projectile vomiting as a defense strategy, why they lack feathers on their heads, that they play a role in the tourist trade at a Georgia state park, and that they have their very own fan club, The Turkey Vulture Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her concluding chapters highlight insects and other arthropods, concluding with earthworms and slugs, subjects all too infrequently discussed in the context of urban wildlife. Among the more fascinating topics she explores are the grooming and mating behavior of centipedes; she even throws in a real groaner of a schoolyard joke on the topic. Given the recent spate of bedbug infestations across the U.S., her chapter on this most reviled pest will be of interest to her readers.<\/p>\n

Feinstein\u2019s writing style is user-friendly for the novice but also appealing to the specialist owing to her extensive citations of the scientific literature. The book is filled with high-quality photographs. Finally, she complements the book with her urban wildlife blog, www.urbanwildlifeguide.net<\/a>, which she updates 4 to 5 times monthly, focusing on holidays such as Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day, as well as the changing of the seasons.<\/p>\n

I would rate Field Guide to Urban Wildlife<\/em> as a must-read for urban naturalists of every stripe.
\n<\/a>
\nMike Houck<\/strong>
\nPortland<\/p>\n

On The Nature of Cities<\/a>
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