Melanie Colón

Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds presents the most recent work of renowned evolutionary scientist and dinosaur illustrator Gregory Paul. Dinosaurs of the Air synthesizes the growing body of evidence which suggests that modern-day birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs of prehistoric times. Paul argues provocatively for the idea that the ancestor-descendant relationship between the dinosaurs and birds can on occasion be reversed, and that many dinosaurs were secondarily flightless descendants of creatures we would regard as birds. Controversial and comprehensive, Dinosaurs of the Air also offers new, firsthand interpretations of major fossils; a balanced, rewarding discussion of the ways we think flight may have evolved (comparing "ground up" and "trees down" scenarios); a close look at the famous urvogel Archaeopteryx, discussing what it can and cannot tell us about bird origins; and in-depth analyses of bird and theropod phylogenetics. Full of rich detail for the specialist but accessible to the intelligent lay reader, the book includes the author's own stunning illustrations and a technical appendix which provides information, for example, on body mass/wing dimension relationships and avian/dinosaurian metabolics. Gregory S. Paul is a freelance scientist and scientific illustrator specializing in dinosaur evolution. Illustrations from his book Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, along with specific skeletal studies of theropods he was commissioned to prepare, were used in the making of the Jurassic Park movies.

They soar and they glide, they flap and they flutter, they swoop and they plummet. Solo or en masse, in formation or pas de deux, birds in flight are in their element, their airborne behavior as varied and distinctive as their plumage. In this book, wildlife biologist Carrol Henderson, a twenty-year veteran of bird-watching around the globe, offers his insights into spotting and identifying birds in flight. With 150 of Henderson’s exquisite close-up photographs of airborne birds, as well as diagrams illustrating the principles of flight and detailed information based on firsthand research, this book is as informative as it is simply delightful to look at. The singular beauty of an iridescent hummingbird pollinating a flower, the majesty of a condor soaring above the Andes, the impressive spectacle of migrating geese in Minnesota, black storks in Kenya, or Swainson’s hawks in Bolivia: in your back yard or far afield, this guide lets you enjoy the beauty of birds taking wing while learning the fascinating science of how, precisely, birds fly.

Returning to its breeding sites in the spring after a winter spent far out at sea, the Kittiwake is a familiar sight around the coasts of Britain and Europe. A pale, medium-sized gull with a 'gentle' expression and bright yellow bill, the Kittiwake has been the subject of behavioural research since the late 1950s - one of the longest running studies in the world. In this new Poyser monograph, John Coulson summarises these decades of research, revealing amazing insights into the life of these gulls, with wider implications for the behavioural ecology of all colonial birds. There are sections on life at sea, nest-site selection, breeding biology, feeding ecology, colony dynamics, moult, survivorship and conservation. This book is essential for academics working on colonial species, and is also of great interest to birders who want to learn more about these elegant cliff-dwelling birds.

With its colourful beak and fast, whirring flight, the Atlantic Puffin is the most recognisable and popular of all North Atlantic seabirds. Puffins spend most of the year at sea, but for a few months of the year the come to shore, nesting in burrows on steep cliffs or on inaccessible islands. Awe-inspiring numbers of these birds can sometimes be seen bobbing on the sea or flying in vast wheels over the colony, bringing fish in their beaks back to the chicks. However, the species has declined sharply over the last decade; this is due to a collapse in fish stocks caused by overfishing and global warming, combined with an exponential increase in Pipefish (which can kill the chicks). The Puffin is a revised and expanded second edition of Poyser's 1984 title on these endearing birds, widely considered to be a Poyser classic. It includes sections on their affinities, nesting and incubation, movements, foraging ecology, survivorship, predation, and research methodology; particular attention is paid to conservation, with the species considered an important 'indicator' of the health of our coasts.

Almost two hundred species of birds have become extinct in the past 400 years, and a similar number today are in imminent danger of following them. The world's conservationists are leading the fight to prevent the demise of these remaining critically endangered birds, with a fair degree of success. This new book examines the process and issues concerning extinction - how and why it happens and what can be done about it. Whilst man is to blame for many of the causes, such as persecution and habitat loss, species have become extinct on a regular basis since life began. After several thought-provoking introductory chapters, the book showcases about 20 species on the brink of extinction from around the world and describes the work that is being undertaken to save them. Some are success stories, but a few are not. This is a subject close to the hearts of all birders and ornithologists and this book, written by a team of leading conservationists, will strike a chord in most of them.

The MVZ bird collection is one of the largest in the United States. It houses over 185,000 catalogued specimens, including 174 holotypes and 2 syntypes. The majority of specimens are study skins, but the collection also contains over 21,000 skeletal specimens and 3,200 fluid-preserved specimens. Other types of preparations include flat specimens (wings, skins) and body skins with skeletons ("schmoos"). Tissues, anatomical parts (e.g., syrinx, stomach contents), and parasites are routinely preserved with specimens. Many species also are associated with audio recordings. MVZ bird specimens date back to 1836, and the collection has continued to grow steadily since its inception in 1908. The collection is taxonomically synoptic, with representatives of every Recent order of birds. For most orders there is at least 70% representation at the generic level. Although the collection contains specimens from every continent and major ocean in the world, geographic strengths are western North America from Alaska and British Columbia through southern Mexico. In addition, there are major series of specimens from Central America (especially El Salvador and Costa Rica), South America (in particular, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Argentina), the Hawaiian Islands, the South Pacific, and Australia. Uses of the MVZ bird collection have changed over the years with advances in research methodologies. Although traditional studies of morphology, geographic variation, and molt continue to make use of the skin collections, more recent uses have focused on destructive sampling of skins for biochemical (e.g., DNA), stable isotope, and contaminant analyses. Requests for such sampling are reviewed carefully and critically by MVZ Curators. Primary uses of the skeletal collections are for comparative study of zooarchaeological or paleontological material, while the anatomical collections are used for systematic, morphologic, and parasitological studies.

The museum's bird collection (more than 169,000 specimens) is the fourth-largest university-based collection in the world (behind Harvard, Berkeley, and Michigan). The museum's holdings of birds from Peru, Bolivia, the West Indies, and the Southeastern United States are the largest in the world, and the collection is among the 5-10 largest in the world from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Argentina. The collection contains 140,000 skins, 22,000 complete skeletons, 8,000 fluid-preserved specimens, 12,000 stomach-content samples, and thousands of tape-recordings of bird vocalizations. Since 1978, more than 275 research publications (including 25 books) have been based wholly, or in part, on bird specimens in the LSU Museum of Natural Science. Several graduates of the LSU ornithology program have been presidents of leading North American scientific societies. Recent graduates of the LSU graduate program in ornithology are currently the research curators of some of the largest and most important bird collections in the world: the Smithsonian, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas, the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota, and the Goeldi Museum in Brazil. LSU ornithologists are the world's experts on birds from several Latin American regions, including Peru and Bolivia, which together contain more species of birds than any other similar-sized region in the world. LSU is the only university museum in the world that has conducted ornithological field research in South America every year since 1962.

National Bird Collection The Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, houses and maintains the third largest bird collection in the world with over 640,000 specimens. Our National Collection, known in the ornithological literature by the acronym USNM (referring to our old name of United States National Museum), has representatives of about 80% of the approximately 9,600 known species in the world's avifauna. While the majority of these specimens consists of study skins, we also manage skeletal and anatomical (alcohol preserved) collections that are the largest in the world. Additional collections include egg sets, nests, and mounted skins. We are continuing to add about 1,500 specimens a year, many of them skeletons and fluid preserved anatomicals. In recent years tissues frozen in liquid nitrogen have also been preserved and are stored at the Molecular Systematics Laboratory. The Division of Birds also holds almost 4,000 type specimens upon which original taxonomic descriptions were based.This collection supports scientific research by resident staff and associates, as well as numerous visting scientists. Specimens are made available to researchers worldwide through collections visits, loans, and through our online database. The geographic coverage of our collection is worldwide, but some areas are obviously better represented than others. We have major holdings from North America, Central America, northern South America, eastern Africa, and southeast Asia. Regions that are insufficiently represented include southern South America, western Africa, Europe, northern Asia, and Australia.

The Division of Birds houses the third largest scientific bird collection in the United States. The main collection contains over 480,000 specimens, including 600 holotypes, 70,000 skeletons, and 7,000 fluid specimens. In addition, the division houses 21,000 egg sets and 200 nests. The scope of the collection is world-wide; all bird families but one are represented, as are 90% of the world's genera and species. Included among its many historically and scientifically valuable individual collections are the H. B. Conover Game Bird Collection, Good's and Van Someren's African collections, C. B. Cory's West Indian collection, the Bishop Collection of North American birds, a large portion of W. Koelz's material from India and the Middle East, and many separate collections from South America, Africa (Hoogstraal from Egypt) and the Philippines (Rabor). As priorities and staffing of educational institutions shift, teaching and research collections can often become orphaned. In recent years, the Division of Birds has incorporated several such collections (from Northern Illinois University, Princeton University, University of Miami, and the G. E. Woolfenden Collection). In addition, the Bird Division has aquired the Canda Goose collection of Harold Hanson, formerly housed at the Illinois Natural History Survey. Geographic Strengths-The collection is strongest in North American (including all species and virtually all subspecies), Neotropical and African material (about 95% of species in both areas), the Philippines and India. Over the last fifteen years, Field Museum has developed excellent collection strengths in Madagascar. Significant additional holdings exist from all regions of the world except Micronesia. Even in areas of relative weakness, however, large-scale exchange programs with other museums have resulted in at least synoptic representation. Skin Collection-The Bird Division's skin collection ranks third in absolute size among the North American collections, and is fourth largest in the world. In systematic and geographic breadth, the ranking is roughly the same. In addition, certain of its holdings are as extensive and complete as any in the world (e.g., Conover game Bird Collection, Van Someren and Good central African collections). Eggs-The egg collection, which includes a portion of the massive and renowned R. M. Barnes collection, ranks sixth in size in North America (with 21,000 sets). Skeletal and Fluid Preserved Material-The Field Museum holdings in skeletal and fluid-preserved specimens have expanded tremendously over the last twenty years with significant enhancement of our skeletal collection, which now has roughly 70,000 specimens. This effort to expand the anatomical holdings is expected to continue in the next several decades. Frozen Tissues-In recognition of the increasing importance of genetic and genomic approaches in evolutionary biology, a collection of frozen tissues has been established within the Bird Division. Virtually all specimens collected in our programs are accompanied by a tissue sample. The collection currently represents more than one-quarter of the world's bird species. This collection now receives the majority of our loan requests. Salvage Program-In addition, the Bird Division operates a salvage program that adds between 2,000 and 5,000 specimens per year to its collection, chiefly anatomical specimens of local and migratory North American Birds.

The Department of Ornithology maintains one of the largest collections of bird specimens in the world. The research collections of the Department number nearly one million specimens; these include skins, skeletons, alcoholic preparations, eggs, nests, and tissue samples for molecular biochemical studies. A large number of type specimens and rare or extinct species are also found in its collections. The specimens represent all continents and oceans and nearly 99 percent of all species. The Department has an ornithology library for research use and maintains laboratories for specimen preparation, skeletal and anatomical analyses and dissections, and a modern molecular laboratory for DNA sequencing (the Cullman Molecular Laboratory). Research interests include higher level phylogenetics of birds, studies of speciation and species status, and the description of patterns of geographic variation. These investigations are based on skin measurements, plumage color analysis, skeletal measurements and analyses, anatomical dissections, and molecular studies. Additional research involves biogeography of remote areas and life history studies of poorly known taxa. Staff members organize expeditions annually to areas throughout the world; recent expeditions include trips to Bolivia, Africa, and Vietnam. The Department of Ornithology has a combined collection in excess of one million specimens. The majority of our holdings are in the form of skins (flat and round), supplemented by skeletons, fluid-preserved, egg shells and tissue samples. The Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History is currently in the process of databasing our collections. Our online database currently includes records for our entire tissue collection, approximately one-third of our skin collection and subsets of our skeleton and fluid collections. The records in this database were transcribed verbatim from our handwritten catalogs and have not yet been proofed for errors or verified against the collection. Many of the scientific names currently recorded in the database are outdated. We intend to standardize scientific names in accordance with the Howard and Moore Checklist Third Edition. This standardization is a work in progress, and for the time being many specimens are listed under synonyms of their current names. Also, many outdated names have not yet been assigned to higher taxonomic ranks in this database. Similarly, locality data have not yet been standardized, and many records currently have outdated geographic names or partial information. Search results obtained herein are intended to provide individual researchers with information about our available holdings in the areas of their interest. Such information should not be used as a primary data source and should not be incorporated into institutional databases. It is incumbent upon the researcher to verify the data and identifications associated with specimens.

The ornithological collections at the Burke Museum are relatively modern, with more than 85% of the collection built in the past 20 years. We maintain a comprehensive collection of birds from the Pacific Northwest, North America, and many other parts of the world. These bird specimens are used for teaching, research, and art. We are particularly known for our special collections such as spread wings (the largest such collection in the world) and bird tissues (probably the world's second largest collection). Searchable online database.

Warblers are among the most challenging birds to identify. They exhibit an array of seasonal plumages and have distinctive yet oft-confused calls and songs. The Warbler Guide enables you to quickly identify any of the 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada. This groundbreaking guide features more than 1,000 stunning color photos, extensive species accounts with multiple viewing angles, and an entirely new system of vocalization analysis that helps you effectively learn songs and calls. The Warbler Guide revolutionizes birdwatching, making warbler identification easier than ever before. Also look for the interactive companion apps for iPhone and iPad. Covers all 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada Visual quick finders help you identify warblers from any angle Song and call finders make identification easy using a few simple questions Uses sonograms to teach a new system of song identification that makes it easier to understand and hear differences between similar species Detailed species accounts show multiple views with diagnostic points, direct comparisons of plumage and vocalizations with similar species, and complete aging and sexing descriptions New aids to identification include song mnemonics and icons for undertail pattern, color impression, habitat, and behavior Includes field exercises, flight shots, general identification strategies, and quizzes Tom Stephenson's articles and photos have appeared in Birding and Bird Watcher's Digest, at Surfbirds.com, and in the Handbook of the Birds of the World. He has guided groups across the United States and Asia. A musician, he has had several Grammy and Academy Award winners as clients, and was director of technology at Roland Corporation. Scott Whittle lives in Cape May, New Jersey, and has twenty years of experience as a professional photographer and educator. He holds an MFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York, is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, and is a onetime New York State Big Year record holder.

Widespread in North American forest regions including the Rocky Mountains, the Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) was once the most numerous predatory bird in Eurasian boreal forests. Synthesising the results of unique long-term studies of Boreal Owls, this book explores hunting modes, habitats and foods, prey interactions, mating and parental care, reproduction, dispersal, survival and mortality, population regulation and conservation in boreal forests. Providing a detailed introduction to the species, the authors study the complex interactions of Boreal Owls with their prey species. They examine the inter-sexual tug-of-war over parental care, and the behavioural and demographic adaptations to environmental conditions that predictably and markedly fluctuate both seasonally and multi-annually. They also question whether Boreal Owls are able to time their reproductive effort to maximise lifetime reproductive success. Discussing the effect of modern forestry practices on owl populations, the book also examines how Boreal Owls could be managed to sustain viable populations. Features Synthesises the results of unique long-term studies of Boreal Owls, exploring key topics like hunting modes, habitats and foods, prey interactions, reproduction and conservation Questions how Boreal Owls could be managed to sustain viable populations, making this a valuable resource for researchers in the field as well as conservationists, bird-watchers, naturalists and forest managers Beautifully illustrated, with 32 pages of full-colour images featuring a range of photographs of Boreal Owls and their habitats

This book tells the fascinating success story of saving the flightless Woodhen of Lord Howe Island. This unique large rail, an iconic and highly endangered Australian bird, was at the very brink of extinction with just 15 individuals found in 1980, when bold and risky actions were taken to save it. The book begins with the discovery and ecology of Lord Howe Island. It then details the history of the Woodhen, its place among the rails and their evolution of flightlessness, the planning, implementation and trials, tribulations and successes of the captive breeding programme and the way in which the wild population recovered. The ecology, behaviour and breeding biology of this unique flightless island rail are also discussed. The text is accompanied by numerous photographs and drawings. This is a story of survival, yet the bird remains highly endangered as it is under constant potential threat, which could tip it over the brink and to extinction. The Woodhen provides gripping insights into the potential for both losing and saving vertebrate species. Clifford Frith has authored four major ornithological monographs, two winning a prestigious Whitley Book Award, a substantial natural history of Australia’s Cape York Peninsula wilderness plus other titles. He was awarded, jointly with Dawn Frith, the 1996 D. L. Serventy Medal for original contributions to Australasian ornithology. His PhD, awarded by Griffith University, involved evolutionary studies of bowerbirds and birds of paradise.

Despite frequent depiction as a bird of California and the desert southwest, North America’s largest avian scavenger once graced the skies of the Pacific Northwest, from northern California to British Columbia. This important volume documents the condor’s history in the region, from prehistoric times to the early twentieth century, and explores the challenges of reintroduction. Jesse D’Elia and Susan Haig investigate the paleontological and observational record as well as the cultural relationships between Native American tribes and condors, providing the most complete assessment to date of the condor’s occurrence in the Pacific Northwest. They evaluate the probable causes of regional extinction and the likelihood that condors once bred in the region, and they assess factors that must be considered in determining whether they could once again thrive in Northwest skies. Incorporating the newest research and findings and more than eighty detailed historical accounts of human encounters with these birds of prey, California Condors in the Pacific Northwest sets a new standard for examining the historical record of a species prior to undertaking a reintroduction effort. It is a vital reference for academics, agency decision makers, conservation biologists, and readers interested in Northwest natural history. The volume is beautifully illustrated by Ram Papish and includes a number of previously unpublished photographs.

Explorer and naturalist Tim Gallagher is obsessed with rare birds. A decade ago, Gallagher was one of the rediscoverers of the legendary ivory-billed woodpecker, which most scientists believed had been extinct for more than half a century—an event that caused an international stir. Now, in Imperial Dreams, Gallagher once again hits the trail, journeying deep into Mexico’s savagely beautiful Sierra Madre Occidental, home to rich wildlife, as well as to Mexican drug cartels, in a perilous quest to locate the most elusive bird in the world—the imperial woodpecker, a giant among its clan. The imperial woodpecker’s trumpetlike calls and distinctive hammering on massive pines once echoed through the high forests. Two feet tall, with deep black plumage, a brilliant snow-white shield on its back, and a crimson crest, the imperial woodpecker had largely disappeared fifty years ago, though reports persist of the bird still flying through remote mountain stands. In an attempt to find and protect the imperial woodpecker in its last habitat, Gallagher is guided by a map of sightings of this natural treasure of the Sierra Madre, bestowed on him by a friend on his deathbed. Charged with continuing the quest of a line of distinguished naturalists, including the great Aldo Leopold, Gallagher treks through this mysterious, historically untamed and untamable territory. Here, where an ancient petroglyph of the imperial can still be found, Geronimo led Apaches in their last stand, William Randolph Hearst held a storied million-acre ranch, and Pancho Villa once roamed, today ruthless drug lords terrorize residents and steal and strip the land. Gallagher’s passionate quest takes a harrowing turn as he encounters armed drug traffickers, burning houses, and fleeing villagers. His mission becomes a life-and-death drama that will keep armchair adventurers enthralled as he chases truth in the most dangerous of habitats.

The fascinating development of natural history studies in North America is portrayed through the life stories of 22 naturalists. The 19th century saw early North American naturalists such as Alexander Wilson, the "Father of American Ornithology," John James Audubon, and Thomas Nuttall describing and illustrating the spectacular flora and fauna they found in the New World. Scientists of the Smithsonian Institution and the Canadian Museum of Nature worked feverishly to describe and catalogue the species that exist on the continent. Great nature writers such as Florence Merriam Bailey, Cordelia Stanwood, Margaret Morse Nice, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, and Roger Tory Peterson wrote in depth about the lives and behaviours of birds. Early conservationists such as Jack Miner, the "Father of Conservation," created nature preserves. Today, noted naturalists such as Robert Nero, Robert Bateman, Kenn Kaufman, and David Allen Sibley do everything they can to encourage people to experience nature directly in their lives and to care about its protection and preservation.

The American Southwest is famous for its dramatic vistas and the exotic animals and plants that inhabit the region. Along with Gila monsters, scorpions, and mountain goats, majestic birds, bring their own unique beauty to the area. California condors fight their way back from extinction in southern California’s remote Los Padres National Forest, roadrunners reside in the saguaro deserts west of Tucson, elegant trogons haunt Arizona’s Cave Creek Canyon, and drippers bob in cataracts of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Birds of the Southwest provides detailed information on identification, habitat preferences, voice, seasonal occurrence, and abundance of more than 450 species of birds found in the southwest deserts, coasts and mountains of Arizona, New Mexico, southern California and southern Nevada. Each species description is accompanied by a may showing the rand and distribution of that species , and color photographs aid in identification. In addition, directions are provided for more than four hundred localities where species can be found. With its complete coverage of avian abundance and distribution in all habitats of the Southwest and its unique listing and description of major birding localities, including photographs of fifty sites, Birds of the Southwest will be an important reference for the beginner and the experienced birder alike. John H. Rappole is a research scientist with the Conservation and Research Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia. He is coauthor of Birds of Texas: A Field Guide also published by Texas A&M University Press, and has written several other volumes on bird identification and migration.

The Birds of Northeast Texas is an annotated guide, for both novice and experienced birders, to the 390 species of birds that have been reliably recorded in northeast Texas. It is designed to augment field identification with commentary on status, distribution, and occurrence in this orinthologically rich region, which includes twenty-two counties in the state. Brief introductory chapters introduce the area’s geography and habitats and give readers an idea of where the best birdwatching spots are. The species accounts explain each species’ status, distribution, and period of occurrence in the region. They often also include a short narrative about habitat preference, unusual records, or some other interesting or unique aspect of a particular species. The species accounts are followed by lists of poorly documented “hypothetical” species, extinct species, and introduced species. A vibrant color section highlights the region’s “specialty” birds, as well as rare finds. It is often difficult to obtain information about the abundance of birds that regularly migrate through an area or about those that visit only rarely. Books like this one, about the local status and distribution of birds, are particularly important for both casual and serious birders who want to learn more about the species in their area. Northeast Texas is a popular destination for many people seeking various types of outdoor recreation, such as fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping. As the area becomes better known for its surprisingly rich number of species, serious birders from around the country will want to add the region’s specialties and migrants to their bird lists. Matt White is a contributing editor to Texas Birds magazine, published by the Texas Ornithological Society and a sub-regional editor for North American Birds, published by the American Birding Association. He has made extensive observations of the birds of northeast Texas and has also written for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, the Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society, and the newsletter of the North East Texas Field Ornithologists. White teaches American history at Paris Junior College.

Foreword by Keith Arnold Illustrations by Ann Marie Pulich The Birds of North Central Texas is the culmination of a seven-year study by Warren M. Pulich, who set out to assess and evaluate the avifauna within the 25,000-square-mile area rather than to produce a field guide. With the aid of trusted observers, the author has compiled information on arrival and departure dates and peak numbers during migration for approximately 400 species. Texas' large variety of bird species is due to the convergence of four vegetation zones in the north central region of the state. In effect, species predominating in the moister eastern portions of the region mingle with species inhabiting the mesquite and cacti of the dry western reaches of the study area. The presence of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and its numerous birders and visitors has ensured volumes of data for sorting and study. Ornithology students, visiting naturalists, environmentalists, and dedicated birders will find this book a valuable aid to understanding more clearly the status of birds in north central Texas. Warren M. Pulich is associate professor of biology at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas.

The vast, open plains of the Texas Panhandle appear deceptively void of bird life, but subtle regional variations provide rich and varied avifauna. Of the approximately six hundred species of birds sighted in Texas, more than two-thirds have been confirmed on the Texas Panhandle. The wooded waterways of the plains of the eastern Panhandle attract such eastern nesting species as the Red-headed Woodpecker and Carolina Chickadee. The gently rolling terrain of the High Plains and its scattered rainwater lakes, or playas, provide a winter habitat for a variety of migrating waterfowl. Canyons etched deeply into the otherwise flat terrain create sheltered places where such western birds as the Western Scrub-Jay and Bushtit thrive and breed. For each of the more than four hundred species found in this region, author Kenneth D. Seyffert provides information on the bird’s status, occurrence, and nesting habits. Ten elegant line drawings also accompany the text. Birds of the Texas Panhandle is a must for those already familiar with the avifauna of the Panhandle and an eyeopener for those skeptical of the abundance of bird life in the region. Residents fo the Panhandle will find this a handy reference to places where they can view their winged neighbors. Kenneth D. Seyffert is an avocational birder living in Amarillo, Texas, who is known throughout the state and nationally as an authority on the birds of the Panhandle. He is a past vice president of the Texas Ornithological Society, a past president of the Texas Panhandle Audubon Society, and a founding member of the Texas Bird Records Committee. He is a regional director for the Texas Breeding Bird Atlas Project.

The eastern screech owl, widespread over the eastern half of North America and noticeably tolerant of human activity, is one of America's most familiar birds. Residing naturally in wooded environs with tree cavities, this owl lives well in suburbia and can be found nesting in mailboxes, porch columns, and purple martin houses. Based on a twenty-five-year study, biologist Frederick R. Gehlbach tells the life story of the eastern screech owl, focusing on case studies of suburban and rural study plots in Central Texas. This is the first thorough study of major life-history, behavioral, and ecological features of the species. Indeed, it is the first concurrent, comparative study of an urban and a rural population of any New World animal. Told in a personal voice, the story of these birds will interest all who have not lost touch with their ancestral world. However, Gehlbach has also included quantitative data and analysis of interest to ecologists, wildlife biologists, and ornithologists. Photographs (including color shots of the gray and rufous phases), figures, and tables provide further detail. Gehlbach's investigations have been those of not only an academic ecologist, but a suburbanite curious about his natural surroundings. The result is a model of research on species population dynamics and adaptation, yielding an emerging picture of what the eastern screech owl needs for successful coexistence with human neighbors.

Bobwhite quail are one of America’s favorite game birds. Healthy coveys of bobwhites indicate healthy land, and because quail hunting can bring in valuable income, landowners and game managers value these birds and encourage them wherever the habitat is suitable. Although biologists have studied bobwhites since the 1920s and have amassed an awesome base of information about this species, their knowledge has not been made widely available to landowners, hunters, and other lay readers. The questions that arise during periods of reflection after a hunt or in discussions around a campfire already have answers, but these, too often, are all buried in the scientific literature. Fred S. Guthery, one of the leading experts on bobwhite quail in the Southwest and southern Midwest, provides a wealth of useful and interesting information in this very readable, well-organized single volume. He offers new experiences and perspectives, based on the latest research, along with a review of his well-known writings and insights from the past fifteen years of observation. Guthery has concentrated most of his work on the Southwest, but this book provides information about all the areas that bobwhite inhabit and also includes information on the related species, Gambel’s quail. Because the biology of quail and the principles of their management are very general, the information presented in this book will have application everywhere bobwhites are known. Wildlife managers, landowners, hunters, and anyone else interested in ensuring that quail thrive on their property will find this an accessible and valuable contribution by a leader in the field.

Lawrence Kilham was a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union, professor of microbiology emeritus of Dartmouth Medical School, and a distinguished virologist. He passed away in 2000.

Birds have long been considered the archetypal featherbrains - beautiful but dumb. Members of the crow family (corvids), however, appear to have powers of abstraction, memory, and creativity that put them on a par with many mammals, even higher primates. Bird Brains presents these bright, brassy, and surprisingly colorful birds in a remarkable collection of full-color, close-up photographs by more than two dozen of the world's best wildlife photographers. The lively, meticulously researched text by naturalist Candace Savage describes the life and behavior of sixteen representative species of corvids that inhabit North America and Europe. Drawing on the most recent research, Savage describes birds that recognize each other as individuals, call one another by "name," remember and relocate thousands of hidden food caches, engage in true teamwork, and generally exhibit an extraordinary degree of sophistication. This handsomely produced book is sure to delight not only bird lovers but also outdoor enthusiasts captivated by the fascinating behaviors of nature's wild creatures. Candace Savage is a naturalist and writer who has published numerous internationally acclaimed books of natural history and science, including Wolves, Grizzly Bears, and Wild Cats. She has also written several children's books as part of a series on environmental issues. She lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.