bird books

Just got my copy of Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: A Photographic Guide by Frédéric Jiguet and Aurélien Audevard. This is the first and only field-ready photographic bird guide that covers every species in Europe. There are 2,200 photos covering 860 species. The West Asian and North African coverage is of all of the species there that have occurred in Europe, so think of this primarily as a European guide. The entry for the Mute Swan. I hasten to add and emphasize. These are not your grandaddy's photographs. Many photographic guides have pretty nice looking…
A few suggestions for holiday gifts, or library upgrades, in the topic of birds. Thinking About Birds Thinking Some very interesting books came out this year that investigate bird brains. Bird Brain: An Exploration of Avian Intelligence by Nathan Emery is the best current book on animal intelligence, and one of the best bird books you'll be able to lay your hands on right now. My review of the book is here. What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World by Jon Young is an exploration of nature via the senses (mainly visual and auditory) of birds, and of the…
There was a dead rabbit in the middle of the road today. I suspected such a thing, nearby, just out of sight, and edible, because I noticed some crows taking off whenever a car went by. Then, when I went over, I could see the rabbit that they were feasting on between drive-bys. I had been looking for rabbits lately, because of this: the cat had switched to hanging out by the upstairs window, the better to observe the just arriving Juncos (snow birds, it is fall). She had previously spent most of her time observing rabbits from the lower, ground level windows, until just the other day when…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history, animal and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Resh, Vincent H. and Ring T. Carde (editors). Encyclopedia of Insects. 2003. Academic Press. Hardbound: 1266 pages. Price: $114.00 U.S. [Amazon $91.20]. SUMMARY: A very detailed encyclopedia that anyone…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: Shubin, Neil. Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body. 2008. Pantheon. Hardbound: 229 pages. Price: $24.00 U.S. [Amazon: $16.32]. SUMMARY: Details the discovery of…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Tennyson, Alan and Paul Martinson. Extinct Birds of New Zealand. 2006. Te Papa Press. Hardbound: 180 pages. Price: $54.95 U.S. (available in the USA from Pacific Island Books and Buteo Books or for $63.95 and up…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Robb, Magnus, Killian Mullarney and The Sound Approach. Petrels Night and Day: A Sound Approach Guide. 2008. The Sound Approach. Hardbound: 300 pages. Price: about $70.00 U.S. (plus shipping). SUMMARY: Covers 23…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: D'Amato, Peter. The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants. 1998. Ten Speed Press. Paperback: 314 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S. [Amazon: $16.47]. SUMMARY: An easy to use guide to growing carnivorous…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. 1986. Ten Speed Press. Paperback: 959 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S. [Amazon: $26.37]. SUMMARY: A very detailed guide to North American…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: Gallagher, Tim. Falcon Fever: A Falconer in the Twenty-first Century. 2008. Houghton Mifflin. Hardbound: 326 pages. Price: $25.00 U.S. [Amazon: $15.00]. SUMMARY: The authors recounts some of his experiences…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: Floyd, Ted. Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America. 2008. Collins. Paperback: 512 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S. [Amazon: $16.47]. SUMMARY: This photographic guide comes with a DVD of bird songs…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Rodd, Tony and Jennifer Stackhouse. Trees: A Visual Guide. 2008. University of California Press. Hardcover: 304 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S. [Amazon: $19.77]. SUMMARY: A nicely illustrated introduction to the biology…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Mearns, Barbara and Richard. John Kirk Townsend: Collector of Audubon's Western Birds and Mammals. 2007. Mearns Books. Hardcover: 389 pages. Price: $108.00 U.S. [Amazon: $151.36]. SUMMARY: Covers the life and travels of John Kirk…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Hölldobler, Bert and Edward O. Wilson. The Ants. 1990. Belknap/Harvard University Press. Hardbound: 732 pages. Price: $108.50 U.S. [Amazon: $86.60]. SUMMARY: This title was the winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Chiappe, Luis M. Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. 2007. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hardbound: 263 pages. Price: $74.50 U.S. [Amazon: $60.40]. SUMMARY: An up-to-date review of Mesozoic bird evolution. New and Recent…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Dickinson, Emily. Emily Dickinson's Herbarium: A Facsimile Edition. 2006. Belknap/Harvard University Press. Large slipcased folio: 208 pages. Price: $125.00 U.S. [Amazon: $98.00]. SUMMARY: Poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) in her youth assembled a dried…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Lamb, Andy and Bernard P. Hanby. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds, and Selected Fishes. 2005. Harbour Publishing. Hardbound: 398 pages. Price: $69.95 US [Amazon: $44.07]. SUMMARY: A comprehensive…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. FEATURED TITLE: Fries, Waldemar H. The Double Elephant Folio: The Story of Audubon's Birds of America. 2006 (1973). Zenaida Publishing, Inc. Hardbound: 523 pages. Price: $84.95 US. SUMMARY: First published in 1973, this book is often called, "the Bible of Audubon scholars." This…
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books "One cannot have too many good bird books" --Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927). Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian Paulsen, which lists bird and natural history books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. New and Recent Titles: Barcott, Bruce. The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's fight to save the World's most beautiful bird. 2008. Random House. Hardbound: 336 pages. Price: $26.00 [Amazon: $17.16; I have requested a review copy of this title]. SUMMARY: This book…