Book Review: Rare Birds of North America

I received Rare Birds of North America, by Steve N.G. Howell, Ian Lewington and Will Russell, from Princeton University Press a few weeks ago and am just getting a chance to sit down with it. I spent several hours pouring over the species descriptions and plates.

This book will be most enjoyed by the bird geek among you, although those with less obsessive birding tendencies will get a lot from it. The thorough treatment of bird topography, for example, would be welcomed by even beginning birders.

The species accounts of the 262 rare species identified at one time or another in North America are extensively researched. The identification plates are exceptional, with clear identification of differences with similar species.

If you are someone who likes to chase rarities, this would be a much appreciated addition to your birding library. 

Published just a couple of weeks ago, this book is available from Princeton University Press for $35.00 (hardcover) or you can order it from Amazon.com for $23.35 (and don't forget to log into your account through smile.amazon.com and designate Wild Bird Rescue, Inc. as your charity.)

Good birding!

Book Review: The World's Rarest Birds

A few days ago I received a review copy of The World's Rarest Birds from Princeton University Press. This is a beautiful book with so much detail and interesting information, you can stay absorbed for hours. At the same time, it is so heartbreaking that most if not all of the critically endangered species discussed will be gone by the time my 17-month-old granddaughter graduates high school.

This large book is an effort to raise awareness of bird conservation issues worldwide. In 2010 two of the authors established an international photography competition to compile a complete photographic directory of every Critically Endangered and Endangered bird in the world. The contest was repeated the following year to try to get photos of some of the birds not photographed the previous year. This book showcases the winning photographs from both competitions as well as 800 others and 76 illustrations of birds which are not known to have been photographed and may already be extinct. As you can imagine, the photographs in the book are absolutely stunning.

Introductory chapters highlight threats the birds face and include a variety of maps and tables with information about the last documented sighting of the species that are possibly extinct or possibly extinct in the wild. Following are region-by-region discussions of conservation, threats and species at risk. Each species has a photo or illustration with information on the population numbers, threats, distribution, habitat, and behavior. Each account also has a QR code, which will take the reader to the species account on the BirdLife International website, with the most current, more complete information on that species.

The book is intended to educate and mobilize birders, naturalists and the general public to take action to save threatened birds and to raise awareness for the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme.

The World's Rarest Birds is $45 and worth every penny. The 360 pages contain 377 illustrations, 977 color photos and 610 color maps.

Good Birding!

Book Review: The Unfeathered Bird

Cover, The Unfeathered Bird

I recently received the coffee table book, The Unfeathered Bird, by Katrina van Grouw from Princeton University Press. 

Skeleton of a great hornbill from
The Unfeathered Bird 

Ms. van Grouw is the former curator of ornithological collections at London's Natural History Museum, a successful artist and a taxidermist. This book, which took over 25 years to create, takes us below the feathers and focuses on the skeleton of the birds. With over 300 illustrations, we can clearly see the anatomical adaptations of various species of birds.

If the book was just a collection of drawings of bird skeletons (and some musculature), it would have been worth a look, but not a purchase. Instead, the beautiful drawings are accompanied by a wealth of information about the physical adaptations of birds that make them so successful. I spent hours, pouring over the text. For example, in the chapter on Cormorants and darters next to a drawing of a great cormorant skeleton: "Perhaps the most striking feature of the cormorant's head anatomy is the extra bone projecting from the rear of the skull. This bone provides additional support for the muscles of the jaw to enable the bird to keep a firm grip on its prey."

Although not an inexpensive book ($49.95 from the publisher), if you are a birder with an interest in how birds do what they do, this is an excellent book. You can find the book cheaper ($32.30) on Amazon. This would also make a great gift for a birding friend who seems to have every bird book in print.

Good birding!

Book Review: The Jewel Hunter

Princeton University Press sent me a copy of Chris Gooddie's The Jewel Hunter for review. This is a story of his journey to see every one of the world's most elusive groups of birds--the pittas--in a single year.

The first chapter is his description of how he decided to quit his day job and spend a year following his passion. He was 45 and his desire to see his favorite birds required rugged travel in the rain forests. Additionally, pitta's are under a lot of pressure due to habitat loss, so the longer he waited, the more likely some of the 32 species of pitta would be extinct.

The rest of the book is a description on his journey through several countries, looking for these secretive birds in the rain forests of Asia, Africa and Australia. One of my favorite sentences in the book (as it sums up the life of birdwatchers everywhere): "My six and a half days of searching had finally paid off with a glorious, three-second view of the whole bird."

The summary:

• Eleven months
• 200,000 km (approximately 120,000 miles) traveled
• 30,000 pounds (approximately $47,800 today)
• Lost 13 kilos in weight (about 28 lbs)
• Saw 1,970 species of birds (about 1/5 of the world's total)
• Found all 32 species of pittas

It includes his pictures (definitely not professional photos) of the landscapes, people and animals he saw on his journeys.  Overall, an interesting book about a man on a mission.

This book is $25.95 from Princeton University Press and from Amazon.

Good birding!

Book Review: Birds of Central Asia

Princeton University Press sent me a copy of Birds of Central Asia, and it's a beauty.

This is the first field guide ever to central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. I wish it had been out when my son-in-law was deployed to Afghanistan--I would have sent him a copy.

Central Asia is a diverse environment, encompassing steppe, semi-desert and mountains. The pictures of the various biomes in the book show the diversity. It is also a fairly remote part of the planet.

This guide covers 618 species, including all resident, migrants and vagrants. The book contains 143 beautiful plates showing many distinct plumages and races. I found the descriptions to be a little more extensive than most field guides, which I consider a good thing. Of course, to get that additional information in the guide and still make the guide a good size to take into the field, the print is pretty small. If you have reading glasses, you'll definitely need them. However, the font is crisp and clear, making it easier to read.

Available from Princeton University Press for $39.50. I did find it on Amazon for $26.07.

This is a nice diversion for an armchair birder. After reading the book, I would be more likely to consider a birding trip to this area. If you know a birder stationed in that area of the world, this would be a very nice gift.

Good birding!

Book Review: Birds of North America and Greenland

Princeton University Press was once again nice enough to send me a new birding book for review. I have been out of town for a few weeks, so am just now getting the chance to take a careful look at the book, published November 2.

Birds of North America and Greenland, by Norman Arlott is a relatively inexpensive, compact volume. My first thought was, "North America and Greenland?" But it makes sense, as Greenland shares its birds with Canada and the northeastern United States. The book covers 900 species on 102 color plates. The paintings are beautiful and accompanied by short notes and thumbnail range maps.

The book is listed as an illustrated checklist, but has some basic elements of a field guide. As long as you remember the book is not intended to be a field guide, you'll be happy with the book. It would definitely be easier to carry in the field than your Sibley or Crossley. You should be able to narrow down the possibilities for your bird until you can take the time to cross reference your field guides later.

If I were looking for a book for a new birder, this would not be it, but it would be a worthy supplement to a birder's library--easy to tuck into a suitcase on a trip when a larger, more detailed field guide may be more than you want to carry. Priced at $15.95/$10.63 on Amazon, it would be an appreciated stocking stuffer for Christmas.

Good birding!