Melanie Colón

CROWS ARE MISCHIEVOUS, playful, social, and passionate. They have brains that are huge for their body size and exhibit an avian kind of eloquence. They mate for life and associate with relatives and neighbors for years. And because they often live near people—in our gardens, parks, and cities—they are also keenly aware of our peculiarities, staying away from and even scolding anyone who threatens or harms them and quickly learning to recognize and approach those who care for and feed them, even giving them numerous, oddly touching gifts in return. With his extraordinary research on the intelligence and startling abilities of corvids—crows, ravens, and jays—scientist John Marzluff teams up with artist-naturalist Tony Angell to tell amazing stories of these brilliant birds in Gifts of the Crow. With narrative, diagrams, and gorgeous line drawings, they offer an in-depth look at these complex creatures and our shared behaviors. The ongoing connection between humans and crows—a cultural coevolution—has shaped both species for millions of years. And the characteristics of crows that allow this symbiotic relationship are language, delinquency, frolic, passion, wrath, risk-taking, and awareness—seven traits that humans find strangely familiar. Crows gather around their dead, warn of impending doom, recognize people, commit murder of other crows, lure fish and birds to their death, swill coffee, drink beer, turn on lights to stay warm, design and use tools, use cars as nutcrackers, windsurf and sled to play, and work in tandem to spray soft cheese out of a can. Their marvelous brains allow them to think, plan, and reconsider their actions. With its abundance of funny, awe-inspiring, and poignant stories, Gifts of the Crow portrays creatures who are nothing short of amazing. A testament to years of painstaking research and careful observation, this fully illustrated, riveting work is a thrilling look at one of nature’s most wondrous creatures.

The "valuable . . . charming" (Esther Woolfson) story of the mysterious Tower of London ravens. Charles II feared Britain would fall if the ravens ever left the Tower of London. Yet the truth is that they arrived in Victorian times as props in gory plays for tourists. But the ravens' past has far more high drama. From the plains of the North American Indians to the arctic tundra, all the way to the Tower of London, they have been symbols of cruelty, of survival through adversity, and a loveable icon. Boria Sax shows how our attitudes to the raven and to the natural world have changed enormously over the centuries. By describing the distinct place of this special bird in Western culture, he shows how blurred the lines between myth and history can be. This is a unique and brilliantly readable story of the entwined lives of people and animals.

There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both a sign of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. CROW PLANET is a call to experience the wildlife in our midst, reminding us that we don't have to head to faraway places to encounter "nature." Even in the cities and suburbs where we live we are surrounded by wildlife such as crows. Through observing them we enhance our appreciation of the world's natural order, and find our own place in it. Haupt, a trained naturalist, uses science, scholarly research, myth, and personal observation to draw readers into the "crow stories" that unfold around us every day, culminating in book that transforms the way we experience our neighborhoods and our world. Lyanda Lynn Haupt has created and directed educational programs for Seattle Audubon, worked in raptor rehabilitation in Vermont, and as a seabird researcher for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. She is the author of Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent and Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds (winner of the 2002 Washington State Book Award). Her writing has appeared in Image, Open Spaces, Wild Earth, Conservation Biology Journal, Birdwatcher's Digest, and the Prairie Naturalist. Winner of the 2010 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, she lives in West Seattle with her husband and daughter.

Though people generally do not think of them in such terms, crows are remarkably graceful: from the tip of a crow’s beak to the end of its tail is a single curve, which changes rhythmically as the crow turns its head or bends toward the ground. Foraging on their long, powerful legs, crows appear to glide over the earth; they take flight almost without effort, flapping their wings easily, ascending into the air like spirits. Nevertheless, the whiskers around their beaks and an apparent smile make crows, in a scruffy sort of way, endearingly "human". In a vast range of cultures from the Chinese to the Hopi Indians, crows are bearers of prophecy. Because of their courtship dances and monogamous unions, the Greeks invoked crows at weddings as symbols of conjugal love. Crows are among the most ubiquitous of birds, yet, without being in the least exotic, they remain mysterious. This book is a survey of crows, ravens, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature and life. It ranges from the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, to Taoist legends, Victorian novels and contemporary films. It will be of interest to all people who have ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds. Boria Sax is lecturer in literature at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and is the founder of the organization Nature in Legend and Story (NILAS). He has published many books on images of animals in human culture including Animals in the Third Reich (2000) and The Mythical Zoo (2001).

From the cave walls at Lascaux to the last painting by Van Gogh, from the works of Shakespeare to those of Mark Twain, there is clear evidence that crows and ravens influence human culture. Yet this influence is not unidirectional, say the authors of this fascinating book: people profoundly influence crow culture, ecology, and evolution as well. Examining the often surprising ways that crows and humans interact, John Marzluff and Tony Angell contend that those interactions reflect a process of “cultural coevolution.” They offer a challenging new view of the human-crow dynamic—a view that may change our thinking not only about crows but also about ourselves. Featuring more than 100 original drawings, the book takes a close look at the influences people have had on the lives of crows throughout history and at the significant ways crows have altered human lives. In the Company of Crows and Ravens illuminates the entwined histories of crows and people and concludes with an intriguing discussion of the crow-human relationship and how our attitudes toward crows may affect our cultural trajectory. As the authors state in their preface: “Crows and people share similar traits and social strategies. To a surprising extent, to know the crow is to know ourselves."

Heinrich involves us in his quest to get inside the mind of the raven. But as animals can only be spied on by getting quite close, Heinrich adopts ravens, thereby becoming a "raven father," as well as observing them in their natural habitat. He studies their daily routines, and in the process, paints a vivid picture of the ravens' world. At the heart of this book are Heinrich's love and respect for these complex and engaging creatures, and through his keen observation and analysis, we become their intimates too. Heinrich's passion for ravens has led him around the world in his research. Mind of the Raven follows an exotic journey—from New England to Germany, and from Montana to Baffin Island in the high Arctic—offering dazzling accounts of how science works in the field, filtered through the eyes of a passionate observer of nature. Each new discovery and insight into raven behavior is thrilling to read, at once lyrical and scientific.

A series of 16 case studies from around the world (including Indonesia, Greenland, Indian Ocean islands, the Galapagos and the West Indies) examines the critical conservation issues affecting island-nesting seabirds, and the solutions that have been found for them. This book provides a repository of experience that can be applied elsewhere because, as the editors assert, `Seabird conservation can be attained only through unprecedented levels of cooperation among seabird biologists and the institutions and organisations that support them.’

The Middle East contains some of the largest wetland, steppe desert and marine ecosystems in the world, providing habitats for more than 800 species of bird, of which more than 60 are endemic. This book identifies and describes the 391 sites most important for the conservation of these birds and other biodiversity. Maps, tables and line drawings show site locations, species and population data. The whole Middle East is covered, from the Levant and Arabia to the West Himalayas. The only book of its kind, Important Bird Areas in the Middle East is currently being used by conservationists developing systems of site protection in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This milestone publication presents the first thorough and detailed review of the conservation status of European birds. Based on detailed breeding and wintering population data collected in each country, the report provides a review of the population sizes and trends of Species of European Conservation Concern. The major threats to each species are discussed, with the basic measures that are needed to conserve them and their habitats.

New edition of Birds to Watch with c.1,200 species identified as globally threatened using the latest IUCN criteria. For each species, details are given of their distribution, habitat requirements, population numbers and trends.

Approximately 3,600 bird species occur in the 21 countries of mainland Central and South America, of which 290 are listed as threatened. Taking a country-by-country, site-based approach, this book documents the 596 most important areas for the conservation of these threatened birds. Introductory chapters define Key Areas and the distribution of threatened species, describe habitats, threats and conservation, and identify the gaps in our knowledge of Neotropical birds.

The greatest threats to Europe’s birds and biodiversity come from loss and degradation of habitat. This book brings together more than 190 bird and habitat conservation experts from all over Europe, to examine the threats to Europe’s eight major habitat types, and propose policies and actions to protect and restore them. Although the emphasis is on birds, particularly the 40 percent of European species with an unfavourable conservation status, many of the recommendations within this book would help conserve all elements of biodiversity in the wider European environment.

More than a quarter of bird species are concentrated in areas that together make up just one per cent of the earth’s land surface. These restricted range species include almost three-quarters of all threatened birds. BirdLife International has identified 218 Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs), which hold at least two restricted range species, although some support more than 60. EBAs provide a reasonable overlap with the biodiversity hotspots identified by other conservation organisations, and are a focus for conservation action. At the heart of this book are descriptions of all 218 EBAs, including key habitats, major threats and conservation initiatives and a detailed map. Tables list the restricted-range bird species present, with their global status, habitat requirements and distribution. Introductory sections present global and regional overviews. The authors discuss the wider conservation relevance of EBAs, including why birds are good indicators of biodiversity, and how EBAs can be used effectively to influence policy-makers.

At least 63 percent of the world’s raptors migrate. Raptor Watch, compiled from contributions by over 800 observers worldwide, is a guide to 388 hotspots where these birds can be seen in their thousands. A repository of information for the specialist, this book is also a strategy document enabling conservationists working at the local and national level to cooperate globally to protect raptor migration networks.

The publication of European Bird Populations: Estimates and Trends means that, for the first time, all pan-European data on bird populations and their distribution are available in one book. The information provided acts as a supplement to information given in two previous Birdlife International publications: Birds in Europe: Their Conservation Status and The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds: Their Distribution and Abundance. Full population data is presented on all 515 regularly occurring species in Europe with line illustrations for each species. Information on population trend and range trend data is provided, along with status threat summaries and population size estimates for each species.

In 1994 BirdLife International published the landmark Birds in Europe: their Conservation Status – the first ever review of the conservation status of all regularly occurring European birds. This book rapidly became a cornerstone of BirdLife’s conservation work and is widely used by the European Commission, national governments and NGO’s. Fully updated, Birds in Europe: Population Estimates, Trends and Conservation Status covers the European continent from Greenland in the west to the Urals in the east, and from Svalbard in the north to the Canary Islands in the south, including Balkan and Caucasian countries where political instability made data collection impossible in 1994. Setting a new standard for conservation data, Birds in Europe (1994) was highly praised for the depth and breadth of its research. Monitoring programmes established since then have provided an even higher accuracy and quality of data for Birds in Europe (2004). Full population data is included on all 526 species regularly occurring in Europe. Half a page is devoted to each species, including an illustration, distribution map, population and trends data, status information, and a concise summary of its status across Europe.

Africa’s 2,300 bird species include 340 of global conservation concern. This book details 1228 sites in 58 countries in Africa which support such threatened species, or meet other criteria to qualify as Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Africa’s IBAs cover 7 percent of the continent’s land area. The island of Bouvetoya has one IBA of 50 km2; South Africa has 101 IBAs, while the total area covered by Sudan’s IBAs is more than 180,000km2. Country summaries provide environmental, geographic, political and cultural information as well as conservation factors and ornithological summaries. Sites are mapped and line drawings of some key bird species are included. 16 pages of full-colour photographs show main habitat types.

Birdlife's Red Data Book - Threatened Birds of Asia identified that one quarter of all bird species in Asia were a conservation concern, 323 species, about 12% were at risk of global extinction. Clearly it is imperative that important bird areas be identified and then prioritised on the basis of scientific evidence. Important Bird Areas in Asia is the first comprehensive inventory of Asia's key sites for birds and biodiversity. Country-by-country, the book details the region's 2,293 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), of these 976, or 43% are lacking any formal protection. This book presents a sound basis for the development of national conservation strategies and protected area programmes, and highlights areas which should be safeguarded through wise policies and land-use planning.

Language: Spanish with English summary The five countries of the Tropical Andes form the most biodiverse regions in the world, with a quarter of the world's bird species in just three percent of the land area. The astonishing range of habitats includes snow-capped mountains, the high Andean Puna, humid Amazon lowland rainforests, dry forest and the isolated, endemic-species-rich tepuis of Venezuala. More than 600 researchers contributed to the book, which took eight years to compile. 455 sites are identified, covering 17 percent of the land area of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuala. A comprehensive introduction covers habitats, protection, threats and other issues. Each site is described in detail, with thumbnail location maps, graphics and data tables . While it serves as an excellent site guide for birders, this is primarily a blueprint for governments and conservationists involved in planning protected area networks. More than half the sites have no protection.

The aim of this publication is simple - in a rational, scientifically robust way, it puts the spotlight on a Caribbean network of Internationally important biodiversity sites - "Important Bird Areas" (IBAs). In a region that is exceptionally rich in endemic birds, seabirds, waterbirds, and species already at risk of extinction, IBAs are an objective expression of which places in the Caribbean are the most important for these birds and why. By highlighting the significance of IBAs, the goal is to secure their long-term conservation - to ensure that these remnants of paradise are not lost. The Important Bird Area program in the Caribbean started in early 2001. Inventories were compiled for the following countries and territories, and are presented in this IBA: see list below. The aim of this publication is simple - in a rational, scientifically robust way, it puts the spotlight on a Caribbean network of Internationally important biodiversity sites - "Important Bird Areas" (IBAs). In a region that is exceptionally rich in endemic birds, seabirds, waterbirds, and species already at risk of extinction, IBAs are an objective expression of which places in the Caribbean are the most important for these birds and why. By highlighting the significance of IBAs, the goal is to secure their long-term conservation - to ensure that these remnants of paradise are not lost.

This directory provides a concise summary of the 2345 Important Bird Areas described to date in the Americas. The inventory represents a participative consensus on the most important sites for bird and biodiversity conservation in the hemisphere, in what is probably the most comprehensive assessment of its kind to be published. Since the beginning of the IBA program in North America in 1995, sites have now been identified in all 57 countries or territories in the region, totaling more than 3,250,000 km2. This book is the culmination of national IBA identification processes involving thousands of people in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, and at least 150 governmental and non-governmental organizations. The directory is at once a high level awareness-raising publication; a decision-making tool for national and hemispheric biodiversity management and planning; and a portfolio of funding opportunities for potential donors.

Birds of the Horn of Africa is the first field guide to the more than 1,000 species of resident, migrant, and vagrant birds found in northeast Africa. Covering Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and the Socotra archipelago, this comprehensive, easy-to-use guide features more than 2,600 illustrations on 213 full-color plates, and a color distribution map for every species. Detailed species accounts on facing pages include descriptions of key identification features, similar species, geographical variation, habitat, status, and voice. This field-ready guide also includes a glossary, identification tips, and information about bird habitats. Birds of the Horn of Africa is an essential resource for birders, naturalists, and travelers in the region. The first field guide to the birds of northeast Africa Covers more than 1,000 species, including all resident, migrant, and vagrant birds Features more than 2,600 illustrations on 213 color plates Detailed species accounts on facing pages describe key identification features, habitat, status, voice, and more Provides a color distribution map for every species

This new field guide covers all of the world's kites, vultures, harriers, hawks, buzzards, eagles, and falcons. Based on essential sections of the widely acclaimed handbook Raptors of the World by the same authors, but with updated text, maps, and plates, it shows every species in a selection of different plumages, with concise facing texts and distribution maps. It provides an easy-to-use and portable reference to one of the world's largest, most popular, and most challenging avian groups. A unique identification guide to all the world's raptors 118 color plates show 338 species in flight and perched Facing text summarizes size, confusion species, habitat, and behavioral and plumage differences Color distribution maps included for every species Ideal for use in the field, anywhere in the world

From the macaws of South America to the cockatoos of Australia, parrots are among the most beautiful and exotic birds in the world--and also among the most endangered. This stunningly illustrated, easy-to-use field guide covers all 356 species and well-differentiated subspecies of parrots, and is the only guide organized by geographical distribution--Australasian, Afro-Asian, and neotropical. It features 146 superb color plates depicting every kind of parrot, as well as detailed, facing-page species accounts that describe key identification features, distribution, subspeciation, habitat, and status. Color distribution maps show ranges of all subspecies, and field identification is further aided by relevant upperside and underside flight images. This premier field guide also shows where to observe each species in the wild, helping make this the most comprehensive and user-friendly guide to the parrots of the world. The only parrot guide to focus on geographical distribution Covers all 356 species Features 146 color plates depicting all species and well-differentiated subspecies Provides detailed facing-page species accounts that describe key identification features, distribution, subspeciation, habitat, and status Includes color distribution maps Shows where to observe each species in the wild Joseph M. Forshaw is one of Australia's foremost ornithologists and a world-renowned expert on parrots. His books include Parrots of the World: An Identification Guide (Princeton). Frank Knight has been an illustrator for three decades, producing artwork for scientific papers, books, and lectures. His books include The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.

This is the completely revised eighth edition of Australia's best-selling field guide, with close to 600,000 copies sold. In 132 color plates of remarkable beauty and precision, Nicolas Day captures the details of all 780 of Australia's birds. Succinct text by Ken Simpson and other experts gives key points of identification for every species, as well as information about the birds' abundance and patterns of movement. Detailed color distribution maps accompany the species text. This updated edition includes three replacement plates, eleven additional rare species, taxonomic revisions, and additional color as well as black-and-white illustrations. The Vagrant Bird Bulletin contains illustrations and a map for all rare species. A useful breeding summary for every species gives immediate information regarding their annual breeding cycles. All readers, whether beginning or experienced birdwatchers, ornithologists, students, or travelers, will find Birds of Australia an unrivaled companion for discovering the unique birdlife of this remarkable continent. 132 superb full-color plates More than 900 black-and-white line illustrations Updated with 3 replacement plates, 11 additional rare species, taxonomic revisions, and expanded illustrations Vagrant Bird Bulletin with illustrations and a map for all rare species Ken Simpson is a well-known Australian birder and coauthor of Birdwatching in Australia and New Zealand. He is a recipient of the Australian Natural History Medallion. Nicolas Day is a full-time wildlife artist and teacher. He exhibits regularly in galleries in Victoria, and his work has appeared in other books, including Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.