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This book does have some good information in it, so I do still have it on my shelf. However, as a wildlife-attracting reference book, it is not the book I reach for. The charts are vertical on the pages toward the back and not in user-friendly order in my opinion. Every book that is going to detail plant listings as to use in a wildlife habitat really needs an index. If this book had an index, it would be a LOT more user friendly.
This book starts out telling you how to create a "Wildscape" in Texas. It proceeds to divide the state into 10 "ecoregions" (with and extremely detailed map by county...necessary in Texas!) There is a chapter on Basics of Wildlife Habitat and one on Designing your Wildscape. Then it gets to the good stuff...
Part two is divided into categories of wildlife: birds; hummingbirds specifically; mammals, reptiles and amphibians; and insects and spiders. They cover common to Texas members of each group.
Part three is "troubleshooting". Unwanted pests, gardening troublespots and warnings about invasive exotics are included here.
Part four is more than half of the book and it's the appendix. There are detailed charts on all bird, hummingbird, mammal, reptile & amphibian, and native plants available in Texas, including description, habitat, region, etc.
The strength of this book is the huge amount of information provided. If you are looking to attract a certain type of bird, there's a chart to tell you dimensions for a nest box for it and it's habitat and mounting instructions. Hummingbirds? A chart for favored plants, detailing regions plant can be found in. Butterflies? A chart for common species and their larval and nectar source plants.
The weaknesses are indexing and photographs. There is no index, so be prepared to search through charts for specific information. There are few photographs, mainly concentrating on wildlife and plants to avoid. Nevertheless, with a good plant guide or knowledge of local plants, this book really hits the spot if you are trying to attract wildlife!
