Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Developing Feeds with RSS and Atom is an American kestrel (Falco sparverius). Though it is also commonly known as a "sparrow hawk," because it occasionally eats sparrows and other small birds, this name does not accurately reflect the American kestrel's much more diverse diet. American kestrels also eat small mammals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians. In the summer, or in warmer climates, their diet consists primarily of insects.

American kestrels are the smallest, most colorful, and most common falcons in North America. On average, they are 8.5 to 11 inches long, with a wingspan of 19 to 22 inches, and they weigh between 3.5 and 6 ounces. Though males and females are similar in size, they differ in their markings and coloration. Both sexes have reddish brown backs and tails and two black stripes on their faces. Adult males have slate blue wings and are redder than females. Females are browner, with reddish wings and black bands on their tails.

Kestrels nest throughout North America in small cavities, such as tree holes, building eaves, or human-provided nesting boxes. The female lays between three and seven eggs, about half of which usually develop into healthy young. The off-white or pinkish eggs hatch after incubating for 28 to 30 days, and the young fledglings leave the nest 28 to 30 days later. While the female and young hatchlings nest, the male hunts and brings them food. Kestrels are quite noisy; their high-pitched call of excitement or alarm is a sharp "klee, klee, klee." Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the production editor and copyeditor for Developing Feeds with RSS and Atom. Matt Hutchinson proofread the book. Genevieve d'Entremont and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Peter Ryan, Keith Fahlgren,and Lydia Onofrei provided production assistance. John Bickelhaupt wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Joe Wizda to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Brian Sawyer.