Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods with Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife

Welcome to Subirdia documents how suburbs in many large cities contain remarkable biological diversity. Birds and other animals are adapting to increasingly developed environments, with populations and communities thriving in these human-altered spaces. John Marzluff examines how human actions influence the birds and animals living in cities and towns, and outlines ten specific strategies residents can use to make their environments more suitable for wildlife. Based on years of research and fieldwork, Marzluff and student assistants tracked thousands of tagged birds as they sought food, mates, and shelter in urban and surrounding areas. Species ranging from Pacific wrens to pileated woodpeckers now coexist in human communities. Through careful stewardship of the biological resources present in cities and towns, Marzluff argues, humans can develop a new relationship with other living creatures—one that supports their shared future.